


Clockwork Heart

by jardinsdeminuit



Series: Stepping on Thorns [3]
Category: Heart no Kuni no Alice | Alice in the Country of Hearts
Genre: Action, Angst, F/M, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:35:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 28
Words: 51,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24831709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jardinsdeminuit/pseuds/jardinsdeminuit
Summary: Now living at the Amusement Park, Alice struggles to come to terms with the events of the Heart Castle ball. Luckily, days out with Boris and a unique job offer from Julius provide her with the first few steps she needs to get back on her feet.But when things in Wonderland start to go wrong in strange and terrifying ways, Alice realises that she might have to ask for help from the one person she swore she'd never associate with again.(Sequel to Glass Roses, but can be read on its own.)
Relationships: Blood Dupre/Alice Liddell, Boris Airay/Alice Liddell
Series: Stepping on Thorns [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1744558
Comments: 48
Kudos: 15





	1. Shadow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been so excited to upload the first chapter of what will be my longest Alice story yet and the final main entry (at least that I've planned) in my Stepping on Thorns trilogy. If you haven't read the first two stories or just want a refresher of what's happened so far, please skip to the end of this chapter for a quick summary of Midnight Invitation and Glass Roses (obviously spoilers for both). This story can absolutely be read on its own, but several things might not make sense without knowing what's come before.  
> As usual, feel free to drop a kudo or comment. It means so much to see when people enjoy my work, especially in a fandom as small as HnKnA. ♥

Sunlight streamed through the window into the little room where Alice lay completely still. Her eyes were barely open, but she wasn't asleep. She hadn't slept properly in a long time.

 _Strange,_ she thought, _I don't remember it turning into day._ The last time she'd taken note of her surroundings, the sky had been orange with the warm light of sunset. It was so strange, the way time moved in this world. She'd stopped keeping track of the time periods recently, and as a consequence, the days had begun to roll into one, leaving her unsure of when to eat, drink or sleep.

All because of _him_.

She felt the usual stab of emotions that came when she thought of Blood: anger, regret, and a sorrow so intense it felt like she was being ripped to pieces. She'd thought that after almost two weeks on her own, the pain would lessen; yet even now, every moment she wasn't forced into socialising she spent lying on this bed, staring into the wall and wishing that the sheets around her would stretch and harden into a cocoon, cutting her off from the outside world completely. If only such a thing were possible.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. “Are you in there, Alice?” came a cheerful, slightly nasal voice.

Alice closed her eyes and rolled onto her back. She'd completely forgotten her promise to go to the Amusement Park with Boris at the beginning of the next day period. “I'm coming out,” she muttered, forcing herself to her feet and slipping on her shoes.

When she opened the door, Boris's wide grin greeted her. “Ready to go?”

Alice forced the most convincing smile she could manage. “Sure.”

They left the tiny apartment through the front door. Stepping out into the sunlight, Alice had to shield her eyes, which made Boris laugh.

“You've been in that dark room for too long. Some natural light will do you good.”

Alice's skin prickled with annoyance, but she said nothing. Boris was the only person who knew everything she'd been going through. She owed her sanity to him, even if his teasing grated on her.

The village was only a twenty minute walk from the Amusement Park. Like most of this world, the area around the park was covered in woodland, though luckily, this one was criss-crossed with paths, with the occasional lamp hanging from trees or posts. Alice didn't mind the walk, even in the dark, as long as she had Boris to guide her.

“So, how are you finding the apartment?” he asked. “Not too gloomy, I hope?”

“It's... liveable,” said Alice, then bit her lip, hoping she didn't sound ungrateful. The one-room apartment, with its cracked white walls and single bed, was about as far from luxury as she could imagine, but in truth, she was just glad to have somewhere of her own to lay her head. The apartment block was owned by a faceless who ran the village bakery and was an old friend of Gowland. Apparently, his daughter had lived in the room before she'd grown up and moved out, so he didn't mind Alice staying there free of charge.

She glanced up at Boris. With his pink hair, yellow eyes and cat ears, he was among the strangest looking of all of Wonderland's residents. He also seemed to be in his late teens, which was strangely reassuring. Most of the role-holders were ten years older than her or more – not that it bothered her, but it was nice to hang out with someone around her age for once.

“If you want, I could probably find you some books to take back with you. I think Gowland has a few he wouldn't mind you borrowing,” said Boris.

Although Alice knew it wasn't intentional, his words made her heart drop. Blood had always been the one she'd gone to for her books. Their room back in the mansion had a bookcase that spanned an entire wall, with volumes on just about every subject imaginable, fiction and non-fiction.

She shook her head. Not _their_ room. _His_ room.

“Are you all right, Alice? You look strange.”

“Sorry.” Alice smiled again weakly. “Some books would be lovely.”

Boris's expression fell a little. “You can tell me if you're not feeling good, you know.”

'Not good' was all she felt nowadays, but she appreciated the sentiment. The problem was, every time she opened up about her emotions, she ended up in tears, so the best solution was to push her thoughts away for the time being and try to forget about what had happened. Besides, they were nearing the end of the path and she could hear the sounds of the Amusement Park up ahead.

As they reached the edge of the forest, Alice's eyes were assaulted by a cascade of pink, white and turquoise.

“Ah, here we are,” said Boris triumphantly. “Come on. I'm hungry.”

He grabbed Alice's wrist and pulled her to the entrance before she could protest. The faceless woman manning the booth smiled at them as they approached.

“Welcome to the Amusement Park. Do you have tickets or would you like to buy one?”

Alice glanced at Boris. “I don't actually have any money—”

“Oh, the Outsider!” the woman exclaimed. “Sorry, dear. I didn't realise it was you. Please go straight through and enjoy your day.” She gestured to the turnstile in front of the booth, which Alice pushed her way through. When she'd first arrived, Gowland had given her an unlimited ticket to the park. She was surprised the staff still remembered it.

Boris tried to follow her through the turnstile, but it was stuck.

“I'll need to see your ticket first, Sir,” said the woman.

“What are you talking about? I live here,” he protested.

The woman shook her head. “I'm sorry, but Gowland told us all that you need to start paying for your entry, just like everyone else.”

Boris looked like he wanted to argue more, but he sighed and said to Alice, “Wait for me inside. I'll meet you there.” Then he marched back towards the forest.

Equal parts confused and intrigued as to what he had up his sleeve, Alice headed inside the park and waited next to the perimeter wall. A few seconds later, Boris landed on the ground beside her, making her jump. She glanced up at the wall he'd just scaled.

 _I guess being part cat must have its advantages,_ she thought.

“Right,” he said, placing his hands on his hips. “Where to first?”

*

The day passed in a flurry of bright colours and sickly-sweet smells as Boris dragged her from stall to attraction to stall. They ate ice cream, played a few games and even rode the ferris wheel that gave the park its trademark silhouette on the horizon. By the time sunset came, Alice was exhausted.

“It's a shame we didn't manage to catch Gowland,” said Alice on the walk back through the forest. She'd really been looking forward to having a book or two to distract herself in the long hours she was alone in her apartment.

“He was probably busy. I'll find him next time. Besides, I need to talk to him about what happened at the gate,” said Boris with a scowl.

After all this time, Alice still couldn't work out where exactly Boris lived. He claimed that the Amusement Park was his home, but unless he slept in the back of the stalls or booths, Alice couldn't imagine how that was possible. Then again, she thought, glancing at his cat ears and tail, maybe he just did what normal cats did and curled up on a bench or an awning somewhere.

It wasn't long until they arrived back at the village. With its two shops and handful of half-timbered houses, it was far smaller than the town that surrounded the Clock Tower. Alice hadn't realised it before, but Wonderland was filled with little settlements like this between the main buildings governing each territory. She supposed it made sense. Where else would the faceless live if not in their own homes?

They passed a woman sleeping the doorstep at the front of her house. She waved as they passed, staring out with her blank eyes, and Alice could tell from the wrinkles on her hands that she was old. That got her thinking: the faceless had their own lives, names and personalities; they aged and raised their own children while the role-holders took centre stage; and yet Alice had never heard any of the faceless complain about their predicament. Even the servants in Heart Castle seemed happy to serve the Crown. Was the will to exist as background characters something that was programmed into them, or was it just something they had to accept, like the role-holders accepted the jobs they carried out?

“Well,” said Alice as they arrived at the door of her house, “thank you for today. I had fun.”

“So did I. We should go out together more often.” Boris paused, as if wondering whether to say his next line or not. Finally, he sighed and said, “I'm not trying to dredge up anything painful, but I've been thinking. You should really try and get out more, Alice. Go and visit some friends. I mean, how long has it been since you saw Julius?”

Alice froze. “Not since the ball, actually.”

“Don't you think he'd appreciate a visit? It might help you heal, too. Get back to normal.” Boris opened his arms and hugged her, the fluffy pink boa that was a mainstay on his shoulders tickling her nose.

“Thanks, Boris,” Alice muttered into his ear. The man patted her on the back as he pulled away. Then he turned and scampered down the path with a final wave.

Turning the key in the lock, Alice considered what Boris had said. It was true she hadn't visited Julius since the ball almost two weeks ago. Half of it was her unwillingness to go out. The other half was deeper, rooted in emotions of embarrassment and uncertainty. Aside from Blood, Julius was probably the person here who knew her best. He'd saved her life when Ace had tried to kill her. So why was she so scared about visiting him?

 _He probably hates me for what happened to Ace,_ she thought, opening the door and crossing the small hall to her apartment. She could still remember with startling clarity the look of hurt on Julius's face when he'd been forced to arrest Ace. The pair had never exactly been friends, but Alice knew that Ace was just about the only person the Watchmaker could tolerate for any length of time. Now she had taken that away from him.

She opened the door into her room and threw the keys on the bed. Instantly, she felt all the misery she'd managed to banish while out with Boris return to her. While she was grateful beyond words to Gowland's friend for giving her this living space, there was something so oppressive about being back here. Or maybe it was just that being back alone gave her no choice but to reminisce.

 _I really would have loved a book,_ she thought, sinking onto her bed.

But as she leaned back against the pillow, something caught her eye. She glanced at the window. A shadow stood against the fence outside, roughly human-shaped but with indistinct edges that shimmered like ripples on water.

“Hello?” Alice called out. She wouldn't put it past Boris to wait outside her window to play a trick on her. Sliding off the bed, she walked towards the window, only for the shadow to slip away.

She quickly unlatched the window, threw it open and leaned out. The alley that ran between the back of the buildings and the fence was about a yard wide, just big enough for a single person to walk down. Yet as she turned her head left and right, she saw that no-one was there.

She pulled back from the window and closed it again. There was no way she'd imagined the shadow. So how had it managed to escape before she'd reached the window? A shiver trickled down her spine.

_Not only do I have to deal with weird time changes and psychotic role-holders, but now ghosts, too?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MIDNIGHT INVITATION  
> Alice is living with Julius at the Clock Tower when she is invited to a tea party at the Hatter Mansion by Blood, who she likes but is unsure of. At the tea party, she, Blood and Elliot are joined by a group of faceless, who Blood and Elliot reveal to be Heart Castle spies and open fire on. Alice returns to the Clock Tower, shocked by the violence she has seen. She later returns to the Hatter Mansion in secret, only to find Blood torturing one of the surviving spies for information. The pair have an argument and Alice runs away.  
> Elliot convinces Alice to return to the mansion and talk to Blood, which she does so reluctantly with Julius's encouragement. After another argument, Alice realises that she still loves Blood and decides to accept his violent side, since it is a part of who he is. The pair spend their first night together, and Blood asks Alice to live with him at the mansion, which she accepts.
> 
> GLASS ROSES  
> Three weeks after deciding to live with Blood, Alice is visited by Ace, who shows her four bloody smashed clocks left in the forest near the Hatter Mansion. The clocks are revealed to belong to Heart Castle servants. Ace finds a bullet left behind by the person who destroyed them and vows to compare it to the bullet of every role-holder's gun in order to find the culprit.  
> After an investigation, Ace returns with the suspicion that Blood is the one who destroyed the clocks and asks Alice to steal Blood's cane for him, which she does. When Alice finds the parts of a fifth broken clock in Blood's desk drawer, she realises that he must be the murderer and narrowly escapes him to run away to Heart Castle. Ace confirms that the bullet he took from Blood's cane matches the one found in the forest. He tells Alice to act normal with Blood at the upcoming ball, which all role-holders must attend, so that he can arrest him quietly on the way out.  
> At the ball, Alice dances with Blood and the pair have an emotional talk on the balcony, where Blood tells her he suspects Ace is framing him. Alice refuses to listen and heads back down, where Ace announces to the whole ball that Blood is a murderer and orders him arrested, breaking his promise to do it quietly. A fight breaks out. Blood is captured and Alice is shot in the shoulder by Elliot when she stands in the way of the door.  
> Waking up, Alice is told by Peter that Ace was actually the one who killed the servants and planted the bullet to frame Blood. Peter only went along with the plan because he thought it would cause her to break up with Blood and come and live in the castle. Alice is furious and forces Peter to help her break Blood out of the cells in the castle basement to atone for what he's done. But before they can escape, they are surrounded by Ace and his guards. Alice challenges Ace to a duel to win Blood's freedom, but soon realises he is far more skilled than her. When Alice refuses to back down, Ace almost kills her. It is only when Julius, who has been staying at the castle since the ball, points a gun at Ace's head that he yields and admits he framed Blood because he wanted Alice to be his. Julius takes Ace into his custody and Blood breaks up with Alice for her betrayal, saying that he will kill her if she steps foot on his territory again.


	2. Tears

The Clock Tower loomed above Alice, an imposing figure against the starry night sky. Alice wrapped her fingers around the door handle and sighed. She'd been putting this off for so long, but now she was here, anxiety gripped her chest. Was she scared of seeing Julius, or was it the thought of interacting with someone other than Boris after so long on her own?

Pushing the door open, she stepped inside and called up the stairs, “Hi, Julius. It's Alice.”

No reply came, though that didn't mean the tower was empty. Julius was probably sitting inside, engrossed in his work as usual. Sure enough, when she reached the main room at the top of the stairs, she found the Watchmaker behind his desk, tinkering away at a clock. He looked up at her over the rim of his glasses. “Alice.” His voice betrayed only mild surprise.

“I brought you a few groceries,” she said, gesturing to the cloth bag looped around her shoulder. “I also passed by that shop that sells the coffee beans you really like. Would you like a cup?”

“Oh.” Julius turned his eyes back down to his desk. “Sure.”

Alice walked into the small kitchen that adjoined the room, glad for a moment alone to compose herself. Julius seemed to be his usual moody self. Perhaps she'd simply overthought the situation and nothing was amiss after all.

“Here you go,” she said, returning with two hot cups of coffee. She placed Julius's on his desk. He took a sip and raised an eyebrow.

“Honey?”

“I remember you mentioning you liked it once.”

Julius gave a non-committal grunt.

“What's my score?”

“What?” he snapped. “Oh, right. Eighty-two.”

Alice smiled as she walked to the sofas in the centre of the room and sank down in one of them. A decent score. “Why don't you take a break, Julius? Just for a few minutes, since I haven't seen you for so long.”

The Watchmaker pursed his lips like an exasperated parent being heckled by his child, but eventually he stood up and walked over, long black coat swaying around his ankles.

“What do you want to talk about? I'm quite busy,” he snapped, taking a seat opposite her.

Alice paused. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Julius seemed sharper than usual today. The anxiety she'd felt outside rose inside her again. “I just wanted to see you. How are you doing?”

“Fine. Same as always.” Possibly sensing her discomfort, Julius said in a softer voice, “What about you?”

Alice shrugged. She'd promised herself not to talk about Blood or anything miserable while she was here, no matter what. “Not bad. I went to the Amusement Park with Boris recently.” What she didn't tell him was that it had been two days since then, and this trip to the Clock Tower had been the first time she'd ventured out of her room since.

“Oh. The cat.” Julius's face turned sour, making Alice wonder what he had against Boris. She'd never seen them in the same room or heard either speak about the other, though she supposed every role-holder in this world hated one another by default.

As she sipped her coffee, Alice looked around the room. How many times had she sat here on this sofa and talked to Julius about her problems? Not that long ago, this place had been her home. Nothing had changed since then. If she went up to her room at the top of the tower, she'd probably find it in exactly the same state she'd left it. The realisation left her nostalgic in a way that made it hard to swallow.

“By the way, something happened that I wanted to ask you about,” said Alice, changing the subject.

“What is it?” Julius paused with his cup halfway to his mouth.

“When I came back from the Amusement Park, I saw something outside my window. It was like a person's shadow, but it sort of... shimmered. Then it disappeared before I could get closer.” Alice shivered as she remembered the cold feeling that had come over her when she'd approached the window.

“What you saw was probably an afterimage,” said Julius. The name seemed familiar to Alice. “When a person dies in this world, their body disappears and they leave two things behind: their clock and an afterimage.”

“Oh. So it's like a soul.”

“I suppose that would be the closest equivalent for you, yes.” Julius placed his empty cup on the table and leaned back on the sofa. “Afterimages wander the land until their clock is fixed. Then, when the time is right, they join with it and are reborn as new people.”

“Are they dangerous?” Alice asked.

“Not usually.”

“What would happen if I touched one?”

“I don't know. Your hand might go through. They can pick things up, though. It's often the afterimages themselves who bring me clocks to fix.” He looked at Alice with sudden concern. “Take my advice – it's best to stay away from them.”

Something about his tone of voice made Alice shiver again. She nodded. “I will.”

Neither seemed willing to address the one detail hanging over them. Normally, Ace would be the one who collected the clocks of dead faceless. And while Julius never seemed short of work, it would be mostly afterimages bringing him clocks from now on. For some reason, the image of the Watchmaker surrounded in his tower by the ghosts she'd seen outside her window unsettled her.

“Would it help if I brought you some clocks?” Alice asked quietly.

“You?” said Julius, frowning.

“It would give me something to do, and it would help you out.” She'd suggested it on a whim, but now that she thought about it, collecting clocks would force her out of her room and give her mind something to focus on other than Blood. Plus, it would give her an excuse to visit Julius more often. Only being here now did she realise how much she missed her friend after weeks apart.

“Alice,” said Julius, looking at her very seriously, “I know what you're trying to do, and I appreciate the sentiment, but it just wouldn't work. There was more to Ace's job than you think—”

“So let me at least do this part of it.” Alice pushed herself to her feet and looked down at Julius, who sighed in defeat.

“I can't stop you if that's what you wish to do. Just don't put yourself in danger.” Plucking his mug from the table, Julius stood and walked back to his desk. Alice watched him for a moment before following him over, but by the time she reached him, he was already sat down and working on his clock.

Just like that, the conversation was over.

“I'll be leaving, then,” said Alice. She'd been hoping to stay a little longer and chat, but she supposed she should be grateful enough Julius had paused his work as long as he had.

“Now?” The Watchmaker glanced at the window, which still showed a dark sky. “I don't like you walking back at night.”

Alice thought he might offer to walk her back to the village, something he'd never done before, when he said, without looking up, “You should stay here until the time changes.”

“In my old room?” Alice didn't try to hide the surprise in her voice.

“I've been using that for storage, actually,” said Julius a little sheepishly, a rare smile lifting his lips. “You're more than welcome to use the other bed. I'll be working, so it's all yours.”

Alice lifted her eyes to the little bunk bed on stilts in the corner. She knew it was where Julius slept, though even when they'd been living together, she'd only seen him up there once or twice of his own accord. Most of the time, she'd come back from an errand to see him collapsed at his desk from exhaustion, head resting on folded arms, in which case she'd had to guide him sleepily up the ladder and pull the blankets over his shoulders. It was the only way he ever got any rest.

As Julius returned to his work, Alice climbed up to the bed and settled below the covers. The sheets smelled faintly of mechanical oil, a scent that followed the Watchmaker wherever he went. Her relationship with him had always been platonic, but still, there was something strangely intimate about sleeping in his bed, even if she was alone.

Alice closed her eyes and allowed her mind to wander for a moment. What would her life be like if she'd fallen in love with Julius? He was certainly attractive enough. A little older than her, but then again, so was Blood. While his work limited the time they'd be able to spend together, Alice's life would be simple, stable and safe in the arms of a man who wouldn't dream of playing games with her. In other words, the complete opposite of her relationship with Blood.

Closing her eyes, she imagined what it would be like if Julius slipped onto the bed by her side and kissed her...

She stopped herself before her imagination went any further. This was her _friend_ she was thinking about. Was she so starved of human contact that she'd lowered herself to thinking of Julius in that way, even when she had no such feelings for him? She grimaced, disgusted at herself. This was Blood's fault. Before meeting him, she'd had little desire for physical contact while she slept. But her weeks of living with him had left its mark on her. Rarely a time had passed at the mansion when she'd fallen asleep without Blood's arms wrapped around her, his breath warm on the back of her neck.

She gritted her teeth. _I won't think about him._ But it was too late. Tears were already welling in her eyes, stinging as they spilled down her cheeks. Not wanting to make a noise, she clasped a hand over her mouth and sobbed into her palm. Soon, the only sound that could be heard was the gentle _click_ of Julius's screwdriver against his clock as he worked, completely oblivious to the crying woman lying just a few feet above his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession: Julius is my favourite character to write and I think Alice would have been 1000% better off with him. Shoutout to my poor boy being cut from Spade Black and White.


	3. Burn

Blood cracked the egg on the kitchen surface and dropped it into the pan. He let it sizzle in the oil for a moment before adding the other two and mixing it all with a wooden spatula.

It had been a long time since he'd visited the kitchen, longer still since he'd tried to cook anything. Usually, the servants were the ones who made the food and drink, so Blood had no reason to venture to this part of the mansion. Tonight, however, he felt like doing things on his own, and so far, it was going well.

Not to mention it helped to keep his mind off... other things.

Two weeks had passed since his humiliation and imprisonment at the hands of the Knight of Hearts. It wasn't something he liked to think about too much, but like with all bad things in life, his mind had a habit of lingering over the events. And of course, when he followed that train of thought, he always ended up at the same place: Alice.

Blood's hand tightened around the spatula handle. The thought of her name no longer filled him with rage like it had at the beginning. Rather he was finally beginning to feel her absence. It pained him to admit, but a part of him regretted having banished her from his territory. In that moment, he'd just wanted to inflict as much hurt on her as he could as revenge for what he'd put her through. Once his anger had faded, he'd spent a long time wondering if it had been too rash a thing to do. But naturally, he had a reputation to defend as a Mafia boss. Rash, self-serving decisions were his speciality.

Even now, he struggled to pinpoint how exactly his life was lacking now that Alice was gone. It wasn't just the intimacy: if he'd wanted to, he could have ordered any of the maids working at the mansion to share his bed, though even in his weakest moments, he'd never dream of being that kind of scumbag. No, Alice had left an even deeper hole in him, a yearning for that brief period they'd spent together as kindred spirits, with no expectations for one another but enjoying their shared company.

Blood grimaced. He was letting himself get sentimental again. Seeing that his eggs were starting to form, he lifted up the plate of warm mushrooms nearby and sprinkled them into the pan, filling the air with the pleasant scent of earth and herbs.

“Boss?”

Blood glanced behind him to see Elliot pause in the doorway, a look of confusion on his face.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Mopping the floor,” Blood answered dryly.

“No, it's just I've never seen you cooking before.” Elliot approached and leaned over his shoulder. “That actually looks nice.”

“You seem surprised.”

“I am,” said the hare with a grin.

Folding the omelette into a half moon shape, Blood took the pan off the heat and raised it to Elliot's face. “Would you like some?”

“I mean... Sure, if you're offering.” Elliot took a fork from a nearby drawer while Blood scraped the food out onto a plate he'd left out.

“So, what's with the sudden urge to cook?” Leaning back against the counter, Elliot held the plate in one hand and scooped a forkful of eggs into his mouth with the other. “Thinking of getting into the culinary business as well as the Mafia?”

“I thought I'd try something new.”

“Yeah, right. You're a creature of habit, Blood.” Elliot paused with his fork in midair. “Something's on your mind, right?”

Blood turned his eyes towards the eggs he was cracking into the pan. “I'm fine.” They'd already been through this. While Elliot was his closest friend and they could usually discuss anything, Blood had made it very clear that the subject of Alice was off-limits.

“You're trying to distract yourself from thinking about her, aren't you?”

“Elliot...” Blood warned, but apparently even the low tone of his voice wasn't enough to deter him.

“I just think the time has come to talk about it.”

“Fine.” Not bothering to hide his anger, Blood slammed the spatula down and turned to his friend. “Talk about it, then.”

For a moment, Elliot just stood there, seemingly lost for words. Then he sighed. “Sorry. I just worry about you, boss. If you don't let out your emotions once in a while, they can come out in unhealthy ways.”

Blood snorted and turned back to the food. “You think I'm going to lose sleep over a traitor?” Yet no sooner had the words left his mouth, he felt a pang of guilt. Elliot, too, seemed uncomfortable, his expression turning into a frown.

“That 'traitor' was your lover for a while. More than that, she was a friend to all of us. The Twins ask about her constantly. If they knew I'd shot her...” As Elliot trailed off, his face turned pale. They hadn't spoken about it explicitly, but it wasn't hard to see that he felt awful for having shot Alice in the shoulder – something Blood knew he'd done on impulse to protect him. “She made a mistake by placing so much trust in Ace. Not that you can blame her for pinning the murders on you. You're a Mafia boss. Violence is in your blood.”

The Hatter remained silent.

“Maybe you should try and talk to her. For your own closure as well as hers.”

“I don't need closure,” said Blood. _Not for now, at least,_ he added in his mind. “If you want to go and see her, I'm not stopping you. So long as she stays away from my territory.”

The way Elliot's ears perked up made Blood suspect that was the reason he'd approached him in the first place. Despite their friendship, the fact remained that Elliot was his subordinate, and it made him feel smug that he still asked his permission before doing these things. Then again, he'd always been like that. In the same way a dog followed its master around, Elliot adored Blood, and now it became clear that not even Alice could drive a wedge between that relationship.

After shoving the last bite of omelette into his mouth, Elliot placed the plate back down on the counter and stretched. Unlike Blood, he wasn't that much of a night owl. “Well, that's me for the night. And Blood,” he added, placing a hand on his boss's shoulder, “if you need to talk to me at any point, you know where I am.”

Blood regarded the hand on his shoulder like a nobleman staring at a grubby beggar boy. “I'll keep it in mind,” he said coldly.

He watched the hare leave the room, feeling all at once like he'd been cheated out of something, though what that something was, exactly, he didn't know. Elliot was clearly trying to play the part of the concerned friend offering him his shoulder to cry on. Since when had Blood given out the impression he needed anything like that? He'd been careful to limit his show of emotions in his day-to-day life; even in private, he hadn't felt the need to cry or show any kind of weakness. And here he was being spoken down to like a snivelling child.

He shouldn't have caved in to Elliot's demands so easily. The thought of him running off to Alice filled him with a sudden disgust, as if by extension, he had become involved with her, too. He pictured the pair of them talking about him and reminiscing about the old days when Alice had lived in the mansion. It was a huge undermining of his power as head of the Hatter family.

And Blood himself had suggested it.

The smell of something burning brought Blood's attention back to the pan. His eggs were turning black at the edges. Picking up the spatula, he moved to turn them over, when his wrist touched the side of the pan, sending a bolt of pain up his arm. Crying out, he threw it off the hob, scattering pieces of egg across the cupboards and floor. The metal pan clattered against the tiles. He stared at the mess he'd made, fuming silently, until a figure appeared at the door.

“Sir, are you all right?” It was one of his maids. Blood had never bothered to learn her name – not that he'd be able to tell between her and any of the other servants in his employ. He scanned her up and down. She was dressed in black uniform, with a fitted shirt and practical, knee-length skirt, the kind Alice liked to wear. Her hair, too, was long and light brown, just like Alice's. Blood almost laughed. Sometimes it really did feel like the world was trying to play tricks on him.

“Clean this up,” he snapped, pushing past her and heading out into the corridor. He looked down at his wrist to see a small pink mark there. The whole area was too painful to touch.

Glancing back, he noticed that the maid had already started to work.

 _See,_ he thought to himself, _that's the difference between you and Alice._ _You actually do what I say._


	4. Visitor

The sunlight sparkling on the surface of the lake reminded Alice of millions of diamonds rippling in the morning breeze. She had to stop and stare for a moment just to take in its beauty.

“I knew you'd like this place,” said Boris at her side.

“It's wonderful.” The pair had been due to visit the Amusement Park again, but Boris had grabbed her hand at the last minute and led her here. She still found it hard to believe such a place existed only a fifteen minute walk from the park. The lake sat at the foot of the cliffs that marked the north-east border of Wonderland, the rocky peaks reflected in its blue waters. Trees dotted the banks here and there, some of them so close to the water's edge that their roots were almost submerged.

Standing at the side, Alice felt a peace she hadn't experienced in weeks. It was as if the water had somehow reached out to her and washed all the negative feelings from her body, even if just for a few moments.

“Hardly anyone knows this is here, but I kind of like it that way. Makes it feel more secretive.” Boris grinned down at her.

Having spent practically all her time in this world dragged between territories, Alice had never visited the wilder places at the edge of the map. Now she found her eyes drawn to the mountains above the lake.

“What lies on the other side of the mountains?” she asked.

“I don't know,” said Boris with a shrug. “Never been.”

“Why not?”

“I've never felt the urge. Besides, there's always so much going on here.”

Alice ran her eyes along the mountains again. She had no idea of measuring how high they are, though she estimated it would take at least a day (the ones back in her world, not the messed up days that passed here) to climb even the lowest peak. “Sometime soon, I'm going to cross those mountains and see what lies beyond.”

“Good luck to you,” Boris snorted, crossing his arms. “I'd rather not risk getting lost or breaking my leg falling down a ravine.”

Alice wanted to point out the irony of someone who regularly got into gunfights and jumped from treetops being scared of a little hiking.

“You know, I've heard the faceless talk about a monster that lives in the mountains. They say it has three heads and scales and eats anyone who comes close.”

“What?” Alice turned to him in alarm.

Boris laughed. “Only joking.”

Alice elbowed him in the ribs playfully. Ever since coming back from the Clock Tower, she'd found it easier to keep a positive mood. Just like Boris had said, spending time with her friend had done her good. Of course, Blood still dominated most of her thoughts, but the pain of their breakup was beginning to feel like more of a dull ache than a constant razor-sharp stab.

Bending down, Alice pulled off her shoes and stockings and ran to the edge of the lake. Then she stepped into the water. The wet mud rose up between her toes, making her shiver. The water was colder than she'd expected.

“Come on, really?” Boris said, though his tone was playful.

“ _You're_ the one who brought me here.” Alice beckoned to him, but he shook his head.

 _Cats don't like water. Makes sense,_ she thought with a shrug.

The water was midway up her calves now, and she realised that it wasn't actually as cold as she'd first thought. Something brushed against her ankle and she jumped, only to look down and see that it was a weed poking up through the mud.

“What about your clothes?” Boris called after her. “Did you think about that?”

“It's hot. They'll dry quickly.”

“You're probably right.” Reaching down, Boris picked up a stone and skimmed it across the surface. It jumped three times before sinking.

Alice took another tentative step forward. The bottom of the lake dropped away suddenly, plunging her in up to her waist and making her scream.

 _Well, I've made it this far,_ she thought, and sank in up to her neck, kicking her legs up so she could float under the surface. Her breath hitched at the sudden temperature change.

The sound of something large hitting the water made her jump, and she looked back to see Boris run towards her. When he reached the part where the bottom sank, he fell onto his front and paddled over to her.

“Didn't take much for you to change your mind.”

“It's boring on my own,” said Boris, pulling a face. “Why didn't you warn me it would be this cold?”

“You'll be fine in a few moments.” Alice was already getting used to the coldness. She flipped onto her front and swam out a little further, the water lapping gently at her hair. Boris dived under the surface and popped up beside her a few seconds later, his pink hair flat against his face. He shook his head vigorously, like an animal getting out of the bath.

“Come on, your turn.”

Before Alice could protest, Boris placed a hand on her head and shoved her down, submerging her completely. She twisted until her feet touched the bottom of the lake, then pushed against the bottom, spluttering as her head broke the surface.

“You're horrible,” she laughed, spitting water. She tried to grab for Boris, but he spun her around and grabbed her by the waist, lifting her up until just her legs dangled in the water. She screamed again. Boris waded deeper, only to slip in the mud and fall, allowing Alice to break free.

It seemed like a lifetime since she'd felt like this. It wasn't _quite_ happiness; more like a weight had been cut free from her. She lay back in the water and stared up at the clear blue sky, determined to enjoy this new peace, if only for a little while.

“How's your shoulder doing?” asked Boris, swimming up beside her.

After a mere two weeks of healing, Alice's shoulder was almost back to normal after Elliot's bullet had pierced it. Now only a small pink mark remained. Her progress astounded her: she'd been expecting a minimum of six weeks before she could move her arm without pain.

“Really well, actually,” she said, rubbing the spot through her clothing. “I forgot it was there until you mentioned it.”

“You always forget time moves differently here.”

Alice had always thought that rule applied to the time periods. The idea that she, too, could be affected by the strange passage of time was a little disconcerting, though she tried not to let it spoil her good mood.

An idea came to her, and she turned to face Boris. “Hey, would you teach me self-defence?”

“What, like shooting a gun?” The cat's eyes lit up. It was no secret how trigger-happy everyone in this world was.

“I was thinking more hand-to-hand combat.”

“A gun would be easier. Just aim,” he said, miming the action, “and pull the trigger.”

While he had a point, Alice knew she'd never be comfortable carrying a gun around with her. Sighing, she said, “It's about more than being able to defend myself. Ever since Blood left me, I've just felt so weak. If I learn to fight, it'll help me get stronger, both in my mind and body. That's the plan, at least.”

The corners of Boris's lips turned up in a lopsided smile. “I'll teach you what I know.” He grabbed Alice's wrist beneath the water and gave it a squeeze.

It occurred to Alice that she hadn't yet told Boris she'd be collecting clocks for Julius from now on. But there was no need to tell him right now. Since that night after the Amusement Park, she hadn't seen a single afterimage.

 _Perhaps it was a one-off,_ she thought. To be honest, she would be happy if she never came face-to-face with one again in her whole life. And yet she had a horrible feeling that chasing clocks would result in exactly that. Either way, she'd made a promise to Julius, so she had to at least try before giving in. She hadn't even collected one clock yet, and already she felt like she'd bitten off more than she could chew.

*

After drying off as much as she could in the sun, Alice returned to the Amusement Park with Boris. The sun was still shining, so she refused his offer to accompany her home and walked back to the village herself. After her swim, she wanted more than anything to change her damp clothes and relax.

But as her apartment came into view, she froze. Standing outside her front door was a figure with golden curls and a long black coat. He turned as she approached, long hare ears perking up.

“Nice to see you again, Alice,” said Elliot, forcing a grim smile. “It's been a while.”


	5. Page

“May I come in?” asked Elliot.

“S-sure.” Alice tried not to let her hand shake as she walked past him and unlocked the door to her apartment. The sense of peace she'd felt at the lake had been shattered, leaving behind a pool of dread at the base of her stomach.

“I hope you don't mind, but I asked around the village to find out which building was yours,” said Elliot, following her into the apartment. Once they were in her room, she offered him a seat on the end of her bed. There were no chairs, though it wasn't as if she had ever expected a visitor.

“Well, this is... simple.” Elliot looked around the small, bland room, obviously trying to keep the disapproval from his face.

“It's good enough,” she muttered, staring at him from her place by the door. _Why is he here?_ It didn't make sense for him to visit her after so long.

“Glad to hear it.” Elliot scratched the patch of head between his ears, something he always did when thinking or nervous. “Look, I'll just get it out of the way with, because I feel awful. Alice, I'm so sorry for shooting you at the ball. I don't know what I was thinking. Of course, I wanted to protect Blood, but I hurt you, and it hasn't left my mind since.”

Alice shrugged. “It's fine.”

“Really?” Elliot looked up. Clearly, he'd been expecting more than a simple acceptance of his apology. “But I nearly killed you.”

“It's fine, Elliot,” said Alice again. She knew hurrying him along would come across as rude, but at this point, she just wanted him to spit out what he'd come here to say and leave.

But when he remained quiet, Alice found herself speaking, if only to fill the awkward silence. “How are the Twins?”

“They're fine. Missing you, but fine.”

“I guess that's good,” said Alice stiffly. “What about Blood?” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them, and she froze.

“Oh, you know. His usual self,” said Elliot, smiling slightly.

Alice looked down at her feet. Over the past few days, she'd trained herself to stop thinking about Blood. She'd finally begun to sever the connection between them, and in turn, she'd started to heal. Now with Elliot in front of her, she felt as if all her progress had been smashed. She didn't _want_ to hear about Blood; and yet she couldn't stop herself from asking questions.

“Does he ever talk about me?”

After a slight hesitation, Elliot said, “Sometimes.”

“What does he say?”

“Not much. A few words here and there. He said he missed you once.” His face tightened, and it was then that Alice knew he was lying. She leaned back against the wall and sighed.

“Of course he doesn't miss me. I bet he barely even acts like I'm gone, does he?”

Elliot looked as if he might try and argue, but then he shook his head. “I'm sorry. You know how he is.”

“I do.” Crossing her arms, Alice looked past Elliot to the window at the other end of the room. The sun was still out, illuminating the space between the building and the fence. For a split second, she imagined that she saw another figure there, but it was just her imagination.

It hardly surprised her that Blood didn't miss her, but a part of her had been secretly hoping he'd at least be a little upset. After all the pain she'd gone through, the hours she'd spent lying on her bed and crying, it felt cruel that he'd barely even been affected by their breakup. It was as if the time they'd been together meant nothing to him. She gritted her teeth to fight the sudden rush of anger she felt.

“Are you all right?” asked Elliot, visibly concerned.

“I'm fine. Sorry.” Alice wiped at the tears pooling in her eyes.

“Maybe I shouldn't have said anything.”

“No, it's okay. I'm just... up and down right now, to tell the truth,” said Alice, sniffing loudly. “Sometimes I think I'm doing well, then other times I'm a mess. Thank you for coming over, though. I appreciate it.”

Elliot was already on his feet and walking towards her. He wrapped his arms around her tentatively, as if he thought she might break if he hugged too hard.

“I feel so pathetic, Elliot,” she muttered into his chest. “Everyone's been so nice to me – you, Julius, Boris – and all I can do in return is cry and mope about.”

“I don't think anyone holds it against you. I certainly don't. In fact, I think you're stronger than I would be in this situation.” Elliot gave her a squeeze before pulling back. He wiped away a tear from her cheek and smiled. “And between you and me, I wouldn't look too much into the way Blood acts. He's never been one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, so I'm sure he cares deeply in private.”

“Hmm,” Alice grunted.

“I'll try and visit again, okay?” said Elliot, rubbing her shoulder. “Until then, stay safe, Alice.”

“You too,” she said dryly.

Elliot gave her one more sympathetic smile before walking to the door. When she heard it close, Alice flopped down face-first onto her bed and buried her head in the musty-smelling duvet until she couldn't breathe and was forced to roll onto her back.

Staring up at the ceiling, Alice mulled the conversation over in her head. Just because Blood hadn't shown his emotions to Elliot didn't mean he wasn't sad. Even in their most intimate moments, Blood had always been a hard man to read. He probably only expressed himself when he was alone. Then again, there was a possibility he really _didn't_ care that she was gone. Perhaps he'd only thought of Alice as a conquest and his interest had waned the moment she'd fallen under his control. Wasn't he always talking about how he liked to keep things 'interesting'?

Alice grimaced. She felt sick. _I have to stop thinking about him._ She knew the more she let him fill her thoughts, the closer she risked being swallowed up into the black hole that had consumed her the first week after the ball. It was just as Boris had told her – she needed to distract herself. She'd start her self-defence lessons soon. The training would do her good. She'd become stronger than she ever had when she was with Blood. Gone would be the moping little girl from the past few weeks. It was time to prove to those around her – and more importantly, herself – that she could do better.

*

“Hey, boss. What did you call this one again?”

Blood looked up briefly to look at Dee, who was motioning at his teacup on the other side of the table. “Oolong.”

“Stupid name, but you should buy this one more often. It's nice.”

Shaking his head, Blood lowered his eyes to the book in his lap, but it was no use trying to read. The Twins' incessant chatter had been distracting him for ages now. He must have read the same sentence five times.

“You know, I don't pay you two to drink tea and talk rubbish,” he said, injecting just enough threat into his voice to make the Twins realise he was serious.

“We need breaks, boss,” whined Dee.

“Yeah, you don't pay us to pass out from fatigue, either,” Dum added.

Blood scowled and took a sip of his own tea, enjoying the light floral taste of the oolong. Something else was distracting him tonight. He'd seen Elliot sneaking away from the mansion earlier. No prizes as to where he'd gone. Of course, he'd allowed it, but it still felt like a betrayal, especially with all the tiptoeing around he'd been doing since their conversation in the kitchen.

There were rumours going around that Alice was staying at the Amusement Park. Blood had naturally assumed that she'd choose the castle as her new place of residence, though he supposed with everything that had gone on there, it made sense for her to avoid it. She must have struck up a friendship with Mary Gowland, the park's ridiculous owner. Then there was that cat with the pink ears. She'd always been friendly with him, hadn't she?

An unpleasant feeling crept into his chest. It took him a moment to realise what it was. Jealousy.

“What's wrong, boss? You've gone pale all of a sudden.”

Blood looked up. Both boys were staring at him with wide eyes.

Ignoring them, he flipped to the back of his book and tore out a blank page. Normally, he would never have dreamed of defacing a work of literature, but this was a duplicate of a book he had in his room, and not even an interesting one at that.

“Do you have something to write with?” he asked.

The Twins patted down their pockets in unison. Dum pulled out a pencil and held it out. Blood snatched it from his hand and began to scribble onto the page.

He couldn't lie to himself anymore. Life was boring without Alice. The two would never be lovers again, but they'd fare even better as rivals.

“I'm going to need you two to take this to the Amusement Park. Hand it directly to Mary Gowland. It's for _his_ eyes only. If I find out you've looked, I'll personally dangle you both off the perimeter wall by your feet until blood runs out of your ears.” In truth, he'd have no way of knowing if the Twins had taken a peek, but he hoped the warning scared them into compliance.

“What even is it?” asked Dee, craning his neck.

“A letter.”

“Yeah, but what's it for?”

Blood folded the page in half, then half again, and handed it to Dee. Smiling, he said, “I'm stirring the pot.”


	6. Eyes

Alice leaped back as the fist flew towards her face. She threw her arms up just in time to block a second blow, swatting the fist aside before it could meet her cheek.

“Good,” said Boris, “but your arms are all over the place. Try and keep them up and in.”

Nodding, Alice did what he told her, holding her arms bent in front of her chest. This time, when Boris threw a punch, she slapped his arm aside with her left and propelled her right fist into his jaw, knocking him back a step.

“Boris, I'm sorry!” she shouted, rushing forwards, but he shook her off with a laugh.

“I'm fine. That was so much better, though,” he said, rubbing his jaw where she'd hit him.

“Probably just a fluke.”

“I guess that means we'll have to try again to make sure it wasn't.” Boris took up his position in front of her. “Just... try to aim a little lower this time. Maybe go for the shoulder.”

Alice felt her cheeks turn red. “Sorry.”

They repeated the exercise several more times, until Alice felt that she could block Boris's fist no matter which direction he came from. She stepped back and wiped away the beads of perspiration that clung to her forehead. Despite more or less staying in one spot, she'd managed to wear herself out. “Shall we take a break?”

“Sure.” Boris walked over to the nearest tree and sat down underneath it, leaning back on his arms with his legs pointed towards the lake. “So, how are you finding your first lesson?”

“It's okay. Harder than I thought,” said Alice, flopping down beside him. The evening sun made it look as though the surface of the lake were on fire.

“You know, it wouldn't be so hard if you learned to use a gun,” said Boris with a lopsided grin.

“Absolutely not!” replied Alice so forcefully it made him raise his hands.

“Okay, okay! It was was only a suggestion.”

After the violence she'd seen, Alice had sworn off guns, and she was determined to stick by it.

Scratching the side of his nose, Boris said, “I forgot to tell you. Gowland received a letter recently from the Hatter Mansion inviting him to a territory meeting.”

Alice's eyes widened. “What?”

“Oh, it's nothing to worry about. Territory negotiations are as big a part of the rules as the role-holders fighting. It just means me and Gowland have to go to the mansion and have a stupid meeting.”

“What if it's a trap?” she blurted out.

“I doubt it, but if it is...” Boris grabbed the thin black chain at his waist and whipped it upwards. At the end materialised a gun, which he grabbed in midair, spun around his finger and aimed at the lake. “I'll be prepared.”

Alice's face must have betrayed her horror, because he smiled again. “Relax. I'm not going to shoot Blood Dupre. Unless he shoots first, of course.”

The shot sent waves through Alice, making her jump. She stared at the smoking barrel of Boris's handgun. Despite her objections, a part of her wondered what it would feel like to fire one, to have the power to take someone's life at the pull of a finger. She could understand why the role-holders liked having them around.

Perhaps the real reason she refused to use a gun was because deep down, she feared she might like it.

“Shall we go again?” asked Boris, shoving his gun into his shorts and standing.

“Absolutely.” She took the cat's offered hand and let him pull her up.

They took positions again on the flat patch of grass where they'd been practising before. “Now, this next move is basic, but important. No offence, Alice, but you're on the shorter side, so an opponent would probably try and pick you up from behind.” To demonstrate, he leaped behind Alice, wrapped his arms around her chest and held her tightly. Shocked by the sudden attack, Alice cried out and tried to struggle free, but it was useless. Boris's grip was like a vice.

He released her, allowing her to stumble forward. She caught herself before she fell.

“Now, when I try again, stick your elbows out and twist at the waist, like this.” Boris placed one hand on her waist and the other on her shoulder and moved her gently in both directions. “The trick is to try and time it just as my arms close around you.”

“And if I hurt you again?” Alice asked, remembering the accidental punch she'd delivered to his jaw.

“If you keep your arms a little lower, you'll hit my shoulders. In the case of a real attacker, jam your elbows into their neck and face as hard as you can.”

Alice nodded. “Right.” She was eager to try this one out.

Raising her arms by her sides, she waited until Boris's hands brushed her before twisting, just he'd showed her, and driving the flat of her elbow into his collar. He let her go with a grunt.

“Not bad. Let's try it again, but this time I'm going to be faster.”

Alice tensed, preparing for another strike. But when Boris grabbed her this time, she turned too far and stumbled. Her foot slipped against a rock and she fell backwards, dragging Boris with her as she flailed for something to hold onto. She landed on her shoulder, the air knocked from her lungs.

“Are you okay?” Boris had managed to catch himself before landing on top of her. When Alice didn't respond immediately, he pushed her onto her back. “Can you breathe?”

“I'm fine,” Alice gasped. She'd had worse falls.

But as she looked up, her heart jumped. Boris's face was just inches from hers. The vertical slits of his pupils flicked back and forth, so cat-like and yet startlingly human. There was a mystery to this man hidden beneath his playful exterior, and by staring into his eyes, Alice sensed that she'd found the door.

Boris made to stand up, but without thinking, Alice grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him back. He looked at her in surprise. Then he leaned down and touched his lips to hers.

Alice froze for the second they were locked together. Then she tore her head away.

“I'm sorry,” started Boris, but Alice shook her head.

“No, it was my fault.”

“I thought you meant—”

“I'm so sorry.” Alice's cheeks were already burning as she scrambled out from underneath him. “I have to go. Th-thank you for the lesson.” Before she'd even finished the sentence, her legs had begun to take her back to the path. She turned and ran, wanting nothing more than to be away from the lake and Boris. At one point, she thought she heard him call her name, but she ignored him and kept going until she was alone in the forest.

 _Idiot, idiot, idiot._ No matter how many times she replayed the scene in her mind, she still couldn't believe what she'd done. Technically, Boris had been the one to kiss her, but then again, she'd practically forced him onto her by pulling him back. One moment of weakness was all it had taken to ruin one of her closest friendships. How could she show her face to him again after that?

Gradually, Alice's pace slowed. She stopped, doubled over from the effort of the run. The forest was silent around her, punctuated only by her short gasps. A downed tree lay just off the path, providing her a seat while she caught her breath.

By the time she'd recovered, Alice's mind had stopped spinning so fast. She was overthinking the situation. A misunderstanding. That's all it had been. Knowing Boris, he'd likely see it that way, too. But the more she thought about it, the clearer the question became in her head: did she have secret feelings for Boris?

It wouldn't be the first time she'd hidden her true feelings for someone from herself. Her true love for Blood hadn't risen to the surface until long after their first kiss, and even then, it had taken her a long time to understand. With Boris, though, it was different. While she'd never admit it out loud, she'd always felt a hint of fear around Blood, so kissing him had always filled her with exhilaration, like standing at the top of a waterfall. But when her lips had met Boris', it had felt... familiar. Warm, like sipping hot chocolate on a winter's evening.

Alice scowled at herself. She was confused, that was all. Just because she and Boris had kissed didn't mean she was falling for him. Hadn't she had the exact same feelings about Julius when she'd stayed at the Clock Tower? She'd go back to her apartment and wait before seeking out Boris again. Then she'd apologise and they'd put this whole mess behind them.

She pushed off from the log and turned onto the path, only to find it blocked by a black figure. The blood in her veins ran cold. She stood there, rooted to the spot, staring at the afterimage as it shimmered beneath the trees. For a long time, nothing happened. Then, slowly, it began to move forward.

It didn't walk so much as float along the path, dreamlike in its movements. Alice felt as if she were watching it through a wall of water. The sight of it was hypnotising, in a way, but also deeply unsettling. She had to remind herself of what Julius had told her – that afterimages were harmless. Most of the time, anyway.

It stopped about a yard in front of her. Alice looked up into its black, featureless face. “I can take your clock for you.” The words were little more than a hoarse whisper, so she cleared her throat and said again, more loudly this time, “I can take your clock to Julius if you show me where it is. He'll fix it for you.”

The few seconds of still that followed seemed to last a lifetime. Then the afterimage shifted. Like a piece of rubbish bobbing to the surface of a black lake, a clock materialised from the darkness. The creature held it out to Alice in what she assumed had once been a hand, though it was almost completely formless now.

She reached out to take it. A thick crack split the glass from top to bottom, and the minute hand had snapped in two.

“Thank you,” she said. “I'll make sure this gets to Julius—”

The afterimage suddenly lunged forward. Its hand wrapped around Alice's wrist and jerked her towards it. Her heart leaped to her throat. She tried to wrench her arm back, but the creature wouldn't relinquish its grip. With one sharp pull that took all her strength, she finally managed to release her hand, almost falling backward in the process.

For a moment, she just stood there, shocked at what had just happened. There was no mark on her wrist, but the whole area felt cold, as if she'd just plunged it into icy water. Gripping the clock, she began to sprint as fast as she could. Within minutes, she'd be at village, surrounded by people.

She glanced over her shoulder, half expecting the afterimage to be following her, but it remained standing on the spot, growing ever smaller as she put distance between them. Even when the path bent, obscuring her view, Alice still felt its shapeless eyes on her, watching her with a persistence that she knew would haunt her dreams for nights to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm putting this story on a mini-hiatus for a couple of weeks as I move to Germany tomorrow, so I'll be using the time to relax and recharge creatively before carrying on. Rest assured this story has NOT been abandoned and will be updated as soon as I'm settled into my new home. :)  
> Thanks to everyone who's been following along. As always, comments are ♥️!


	7. Role

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! After my couple of weeks away, I am happy to announce that this story will now be updated on a more regular basis. Woo. To celebrate, today I will be posting not one, but two chapters. Hope you like them!

“He's an awful person.”

Alice was sat on the sofa in Gowland's living room when he walked through the door, cheeks red in anger.

As far as she knew, only one person was capable of making him that angry.

“Not a productive meeting, then?” asked Alice, closing the book in her lap.

“ _Productive?_ We may as well have not had it,” Gowland snapped. “And here's the worst part. We have to have another meeting later on to finish what should have been wrapped up today. Well, he can shove it up his smarmy _arse_.”

Boris closed the door behind Gowland and gave Alice a sympathetic look. Alice felt herself looking down to avoid his eyes. They hadn't had the opportunity to speak privately since their kiss at the lake. When she'd arrived at the Amusement Park to search for him earlier today, she'd just managed to catch him and Gowland as they left for Blood's meeting. Her timing had either been excellent of awful, depending on how you looked at it. Nonetheless, Gowland had offered her to stay in his small house while she waited for them to return.

Tucked behind a small grove of trees at the entrance of the Amusement Park, Gowland's house consisted of two rooms – a bedroom and the living room where she now sat – and followed the park's bright colour scheme, with gaudy splashes of turquoise and amber decorating the walls. Combined, the two rooms were probably even smaller than Julius's living space in the Clock Tower.

“It seems Blood just invited us over to insult us both.” Boris flopped down on the sofa opposite Alice and propped his feet up on the coffee table, his black and pink tail flicking back and forth beneath him. “He wants to take a piece of this territory for himself.”

“ _My_ territory,” shouted Gowland, jabbing his thumb into his chest. “Can you imagine the cheek?”

Alice grimaced. Unfortunately, she could. “But I thought that was part of the rules.”

“Of course,” said Boris. “Any leader can challenge another for a piece of their territory. If not, there'd be little reason for us to fight.”

It was easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the role-holders fought one another just because they didn't get along. Gowland and Blood, for example, had a very open rivalry. But it was the division of territory that drove most of the conflict in this world. Alice had never been to a meeting before – being an Outsider, it wasn't her place to do so – but she knew that the borders between territories were constantly being negotiated. It was all one big violent game that never seemed to end.

Gowland hovered beside the sofa. He seemed reluctant to sit down. “The village Blood wants, Hatch, sits on the border between the Amusement Park and the Hatters' territory. It's always been part of my land, though. A lot of my workers live there. He said if I won't give it to him willingly, he'll take it by force.”

“Why would he want to take it in the first place?” asked Alice.

“Beats me.” Gowland shrugged. “Probably just because he can.”

Alice crinkled her nose up. Something was funny about this. “Don't you think it's a bit of a coincidence?”

“What do you mean?” Boris had slouched down so far on the sofa his head was almost at a right angle to his chest.

“Well, what if he's trying to get to you because of me? He's bound to have found out I'm living here. What if he's jealous of our friendship and this is his revenge?”

“Sounds quite petty to me,” said Boris.

Alice rolled her eyes. This was Blood they were talking about, a man who'd once sulked for an hour straight because he didn't have the kind of tea he'd liked in the mansion.

“You might be onto something there, Alice,” said Gowland with a sigh, “but it doesn't stop the fact that he's still trying to take a large portion of my territory, and I have to face him again at the next meeting.”

Everyone was silent for a moment, until Alice said softly, “I'll go with you.”

“Huh?” said Boris and Gowland in unison.

Alice shrugged. “I know how to negotiate with him.” _Plus,_ she thought, _I have to break the ice at some point. Better I do it with a friend by my side than alone._

“Be that as it may, you're still banned from Hatter territory,” said Boris.

“But if I'm there to negotiate, I'll be under protection. Diplomatic immunity, right?”

“I'm not sure about this,” mumbled Boris. “You could get hurt, or worse.”

Alice noticed he didn't use the word 'killed'. Because they all knew that was what Blood had promised if she entered his territory again. She could hear his voice now, deathly calm as he delivered those fateful words: _from this moment forth, you are forbidden from trespassing on mansion grounds or anywhere in my territory, unless you wish to be shot on sight_. She hadn't returned since that night after the ball, when she'd stood outside the mansion walls and caught a glimpse of him through a window.

“He's right, Alice,” said Gowland. “There's no guarantee Blood won't take action against you, even if you're with me.”

“I want to go,” said Alice as firmly as she could.

The two men exchanged glances. Then Boris sighed. “If she wants to go...”

“Fine,” said Gowland. “Thank you, Alice. I appreciate it.”

“Hey, maybe she'll be able to keep your temper in check when the Hatter winds your gears again,” said Boris with a smirk.

Gowland laughed humourlessly. “Hilarious. Well, I'd better go and make sure my park hasn't burned down. Lock up for me when you're done, Boris.” He smiled at Alice and walked to the door, rubbing his hands together absent-mindedly.

Once he was gone, Boris turned back to Alice.”You didn't have to do that. I would have gone to the meeting again.”

“It was for myself as well as you,” she said. “I... need to face Blood, even if I just sit there and don't say anything.”

To Alice's surprise, Boris grinned instead of pressing her further. “I understand. You do what you need to do. Just stay safe.”

“Thank you.” Alice found herself smiling despite her nervousness. Being around Boris always seemed to calm her down, no matter the conversation subject. It made what she had to say next seem a lot less daunting. “You know, there's something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

“I figured.”

Alice looked him up and down, slouched on the sofa like an exhausted teenager. _He seems so casual._ Was he not bothered about the kiss they'd shared, or was he just acting natural about it so she didn't feel uncomfortable?

“All right. I'll just come out and say it. I'm sorry for the kiss at the lake.”

“ _You're_ sorry?” Boris laughed softly. “Alice, you don't have to apologise. _I'm_ the one who kissed you in the first place.”

“But I gave you the wrong signal—”

“No.” There was a rare serious look in Boris's eyes. “I've been thinking about it a lot. It was wrong of me to kiss you without asking first. I don't want you to think any less of me for it.” He sighed. “I guess I've been trying to avoid thinking about it for fear of what you might say.”

“Of course. And I don't think any less of you for it.” Alice felt like a weight had been lifted from her chest. And to think she'd been so worried about confronting Boris about this. She let out a breath, basking in the relief of the moment.

That was until Boris pulled his gun out.

“I want you to have this,” he said.

Alice's eyes widened. “Boris, you know I don't—”

“I understand. Normally, you wouldn't touch one. But this isn't a normal situation we're facing, is it?”

Her shoulders stiffening, Alice said, “You mean the meeting with Blood.”

“I'm not saying anything's going to happen for certain. It's just a precaution. You know, in case 'diplomatic immunity' isn't enough.”

But Alice could see it in his face: he expected Blood to attack her for breaching her exile.

_He wants me to shoot Blood in self-defence._

She stayed quiet as Boris went through the various parts of the gun and how to use it: disabling the safety, pulling back the hammer, and where to put her fingers when holding it. “There are handguns on sale throughout the country that the faceless carry with them, though I'd feel a lot better if you took this one. It's easy to use and won't misfire.”

“But what about you?” she said desperately as her last line of defence. “You'll be left without a weapon.”

“I think I'll survive for a few hours without shooting anyone.” Laughing, Boris held out the gun for her. She stared at it, feeling like the moment she took it, she'd have crossed a boundary she could never return from.

“Why don't you hold onto it for now,” she said quickly.

“Fine. I'll give it to Gowland.” Boris replaced the gun in his pocket with obvious reluctance. “Just promise me you'll take it with you.”

After a pause, Alice said, “I promise.” One thing she'd learned recently was to pick her battles, and this was one she knew she couldn't win. Besides, just because she had the gun on her person didn't mean she had to use it.

“Thank you.” Boris stood up, walked around the edge of the table and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You're one of my dearest friends, and I would hate to do anything to break that friendship.”

It was funny, Alice thought, how closely his words echoed her thoughts coming back from the lake.

“Same here.” She placed her hand on his and gave it a squeeze.

“Besides.” Boris leaned down and placed his lips to her ear. His voice was barely above a whisper. “Where else are you going to find a self-defence teacher as good as me?”

Giggling, Alice grabbed him by the chin and pushed his face away. “If that head gets any bigger, you'll start to lose your balance.”

“Balance isn't a problem for me,” said Boris proudly, flicking his tail in her direction. “I'm going after Gowland. You're more than welcome to come too, though I don't think he'd mind me leaving the key with you if you wanted to stay here.”

“No, I'll come.”

Boris's cat eyes sparkled, and Alice felt grateful to have a friend as understanding as Boris. All her fretting about the kiss seemed silly now that everything was back to normal.

At least, that was how it seemed on the surface. Deep down, Alice could sense her emotions stirring, like ocean waves before a storm. How could she tell Boris that she'd liked the feeling of his hand on her shoulder, how her heart had fluttered when he'd whispered into her ear?

She sighed. It seemed that every time she tried to deny her feelings for Boris, they just came back stronger. But she had to try and stop herself. Every second she spent was a second closer to her meeting with Blood, and while she knew she'd have to address her feelings soon, for now, at least, there were bigger things on her mind.

*

“So, that's how it happened.”

“And how do you feel about it?”

Alice paused. “Nervous.”

“Just nervous?”

She thanked Julius as he placed a cup of coffee and a plate before her. “Terrified. But you can hardly blame me. It's been weeks since I last saw Blood, and we didn't exactly leave on the best of terms.” She eyed the plate in front of her, only just noticing that it was stacked with biscuits. “Did you go shopping?”

“Yes,” said Julius, sitting down opposite and giving her a look that said, _I can do things for myself, you know_.

“But it's strange,” she muttered. “Even though I'm scared on the inside, I've been holding myself together fine. I thought I'd be panicking at the thought of seeing Blood again, not eating, barely sleeping, but it's been easier just to act normal.”

“Isn't that a good thing?” Julius raised an eyebrow.

“Of course.” Alice smiled weakly. “Maybe it just means I've gotten stronger.”

“Well, it's been a few weeks. People grieve and then they move on. Believe me, it's easier to just accept the passage of time instead of clinging to what might have been.”

 _Of course he'd say something like that,_ Alice thought. The whole point of Julius's role was moving time forward. It was part of the reason so many people resented him: by fixing someone's clock, he was essentially erasing what they had once been and forcing their timeline forward. It only made sense he'd view holding onto the past as something detrimental to the future.

“By the way, I have something for you,” said Alice. She reached into her bag, took out the broken clock and placed it on the table. “Just like I promised.”

Lowering his coffee, Julius picked up the clock and examined it. “Where did you find this?”

“An afterimage gave it to me,” she said, thinking back to the lake. Should she tell him what had happened afterwards? It would probably worry him, but she felt she owed her friend the truth, especially since he might be able to shed some light on what it meant. “Actually, something strange happened . Once it had given me the clock, the afterimage grabbed me by the hand and jerked me towards it, like it was trying to drag me inside its body.” She shuddered at the memory.

As expected, Julius looked at her with concern, dark eyebrows knitting together. “Did it hurt you?”

“No. My hand just felt cold from where it had touched me.”

 _Would it have hurt me had I not been able to pull away in time?_ Alice wondered. Would it have been _able_ to hurt her? Until that incident, she hadn't even believed that afterimages could touch people.

“Perhaps you should try your best to avoid them from now on. I can get by without your help and would much rather you concentrate on staying safe,” said Julius, turning over the clock in his hands.

“Oh. Really?” After the incident with the afterimage, Alice had been figuring out a way to ask Julius if she could be let off the job of collecting clocks for him. She felt embarrassed saying it, especially since she'd been the one who'd suggested she start doing it in the first place, so his saying so filled her with relief.

“Mm. To be honest, I only allowed you to do it in the first place because I thought it would give you something to do instead of moping around after Blood,” Julius mumbled into his coffee.

“None taken,” said Alice with a smile. Julius was as blunt as always.

She took one of the biscuits off the plate and bit in. It was soft, toffee-flavoured and tasted homemade. Then again, basically all the food here in Wonderland either came from local family-owned businesses or, in the case of the Hatter Mansion, was made fresh in the kitchens. “So, if I don't bring you clocks and Ace isn't here, then how do you get them? It's not like you ever leave the tower.”

“I get out from time to time,” said Julius defensively.

“You know who Rapunzel is, don't you?” Alice giggled. “You're both trapped in a tower, have long, beautiful hair... Well, the similarities end there, but you have to admit it's a funny coincidence.”

Julius rolled his eyes. “For your information, I am not _trapped_ here. The faceless bring me the clocks. Often it's the family or friend of whoever's perished. Other times the afterimages themselves.” He shot her a look. “I've already told you this, haven't I?”

“Maybe,” said Alice. While she'd been living in this world for a while now, the amount of new information that she was constantly discovering meant she was prone to forgetting something every now and again.

“Well, then,” grumbled Julius. “Have you—”

“Wait.” A thought suddenly occurred to Alice. “The afterimage who gave me the clock in the forest... How would it have known that I was collecting clocks for you? Do you think it overheard our conversation last time I was here?”

“I'm not sure. Afterimages exist in a time outside our own.” He took a sip of coffee and stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “The one that attacked you was probably acting on instinct. Either that, or someone had instructed it to do so. They don't have wills of their own like you and me.”

 _Instructed?_ Alice was shocked anyone would do such a thing. Her mind immediately went to Blood, but that seemed unlikely. As much as the Hatter hated her right now, there was no chance he'd be sending afterimages to attack her, and as far as she knew, nobody else in Wonderland had a grudge against her.

“I wouldn't think about it too much if I were you. There are things about this world that even I don't fully understand,” said Julius.

Alice nodded. That sounded like good advice for now. Realising she still had half of the biscuit in her hand, she shoved it into her mouth and pointed at the clock. “Well, I may not be collecting them for you any more, but I'm glad I could bring you the one, at least. I was carrying it around with me for ages.”

The atmosphere suddenly turned icy as Julius looked up at her with wide eyes. “What do you mean, 'ages'?”

“Just a few time periods... Julius, are you all right?”

But the Watchmaker didn't answer her. Picking up the clock, he walked over to the window and peered out, as if expecting something to be standing in the courtyard below. Then he turned back to her. “You can't hold onto clocks, Alice.”

Even though he hadn't raised his voice, Alice could feel the fury behind his words. Her cheeks began to turn red. “I thought it was okay because Ace often turned up with a bag... Oh.” An image of Ace strolling into the room they were sat in, grinning as he set his bag down in front of Julius, came to her. The realisation hit her like a train. “When Ace used to bring you all those clocks, he hadn't been saving them, had he? They were all collected at once.”

Julius walked over to his desk and placed the clock down carefully. “You've probably worked it out by now, but Ace was more than just a collector for me. He helped maintain the order of this world.”

There was a weight to his words that left Alice in no doubt as to what 'maintain the order' meant. She'd experienced first-hand just how violent the Knight could be. Add to that the amount of clocks Julius was constantly weighed down by, and it only made sense that he'd instructed Ace to carry out his dirty work.

Of course, this was all previous knowledge to her. She wasn't stupid – she _knew_ Ace had put down people for Julius and brought him their clocks. So why did she suddenly feel so uneasy about it? Was it because she was only just realising the scale of his work?

It seemed like so long since she'd spoken about Ace with anyone. Thoughts of him invaded her mind now and then, but most of the time, she met those thoughts with anger. While it was Blood's breaking up with her that hit closest to her heart, Ace's betrayal still cut her deeply. She'd avoided talking about him where she could, but now she found her curiosity piqued. Suddenly she wanted to know everything about the work Ace did for Julius.

But one look at him told her now was not the best time. The Watchmaker's eyes held an otherwordly look that unsettled her a little. He seemed to be deep in thought, as if he were seeing something that wasn't there.

Downing the last of her coffee, Alice stood up. Julius turned to her again, and this time, she could tell he was back in the room with her.

“Are you leaving?”

“I thought it would be best to go before the time period changes.” She didn't want to mention that she was still a little uneasy about the strange look in his eyes she'd seen. She thanked him for the biscuits and headed for the door, just as one final question came to her.

She turned, one hand on the door frame, and said, “You don't hate me for what happened to Ace, do you, Julius?”

“Of course I don't hate you,” he said, though Alice noticed he kept his eyes down to avoid her gaze. “Ace made his own choices, and now he has to atone for his crimes. Once his debt is paid, he'll be back.”

 _Debt._ Something about that word sent a shiver down Alice's spine. “Can you tell me where he is?”

“You wouldn't understand even if I did.” Julius grunted. “Ace knew what he was doing when he broke the rules. It's bad enough if a role-holder does it, but officials should know better than anyone.”

Alice frowned. “What's an official?”

Julius pulled his lips into a tight line. Alice waited a few seconds for him to elaborate, but it seemed he'd decided he'd already said enough on the subject. Saying her final goodbye, she placed her hand on the door handle and pulled it closed.

 _An official._ Alice made sure to store the word in the long list of unanswered questions she had about Wonderland as she walked down the clock tower stairs. Usually, Julius was happy to explain things to her the best that he could, but she felt that he'd been unusually cryptic today. His anger at her holding the clock, in particular, was something she just couldn't stop thinking about. It must have linked to the way time flowed in this world: if people held onto clocks, Julius couldn't fix them, though it must not have applied to smashed clocks like the one in Blood's desk drawer. After all, their life was over with no hope of resurrection.

But did it really matter if the clock was in Julius's hands or someone else's? Or did he have to work towards some kind of deadline to fix each clock, a timer that started to tick down upon the person's death? It would explain why Julius was always working so hard. Yet surely if that were the case, he would have mentioned it to her when she'd offered to start collecting clocks for him.

What would happen now that Ace wasn't there to collect clocks?

Alice paused on the last step, just before the door leading to the courtyard. Something else was bothering her, too. She'd always assumed that Ace was imprisoned in the Clock Tower, but from Julius's comments, it was clear to her now that he was somewhere else entirely. The thought, mixed with Julius's icy tone towards the end of their conversation, gave her a sinking feeling in her gut.

_Damn it, Julius. You had the opportunity to give me a straight answer and you just ended up complicating things._

She needed to find out where Ace was, for her own peace of mind as much as her curiosity. Since she obviously couldn't speak to him directly (and wasn't sure she even wanted to after his trying to kill her), and Julius was clearly reluctant to reveal anymore, only one person remained who could possibly give her the answer. Someone who had been imprisoned himself by the Watchmaker a long time ago.

Though whether Elliot would agree to go down that rabbit hole with her was another matter entirely.


	8. Meeting

As she looked up at the Hatter Mansion gates, Alice wished that she was anywhere else in the world.

“I... don't think I can do this,” she said, a little breathlessly.

“Are you all right?” asked Gowland, turning to her. “If you want to go back to the Amusement Park, I'm sure I'll be able to call an escort. You shouldn't be alone in this territory.”

Alice squeezed her eyes shut and tried to control her breathing. _It's just nerves,_ she told herself. _You haven't been back here in so long, you don't know what to expect._ As such, her mind was racing with possibilities: would she be thrown out before the meeting began? Would she even be allowed into the mansion? Perhaps Blood would keep his promise after all and shoot her on sight, though she couldn't imagine even him being that heartless.

More than anything, she was dreading being in the same room as the man who had broken her heart.

“Sorry. I'm fine,” she said, shaking her head. No matter what happened, she supposed she'd have Gowland by her side. “Let's go in.”

“Wait.” Gowland placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled something out of his pocket. Boris's gun. “I was told to give this to you and, uh, not to take 'no' for an answer.”

Alice frowned. She'd been hoping Boris would have forgotten to pass his gun along to Gowland. But she'd made a promise to carry it with her, and she wasn't in the mood for arguing, so she mumbled her thanks, took it off him and placed it deep in her dress pocket.

“Right.” Gowland clapped his hands together. “Let's get this over with.”

Alice only wished she shared his enthusiasm.

She looked up to see a pair of servants dressed in the black Hatter uniform approaching them. They paused on the other side of the gates. Despite their empty faces, there was no mistaking the look of confusion they shared.

“Miss Alice?” said the man on the left.

“She's with me,” said Gowland, all traces of amusement gone from his face. “I believe that grants her safe access.”

“W-we'd have to check with the boss—”

“I don't think there's much time for that. By my count, we're here on the dot for the meeting. Any delay and we'll be late, and I can't imagine your boss being too happy about that. Can you?”

The servants exchanged another glance before the one on the right said, “Of course. Right this way, please.”

The gates swung open, and Alice allowed herself to be led down the path towards the mansion with Gowland. She glanced back at the gates, half expecting the Bloody Twins to be waiting there out of sight, but strangely there was no sign of them.

The moment she stepped into the mansion hall, Alice felt a wave of nausea hit her. Everything, from the striped beige wallpaper to the black Gothic-style chandelier hanging from the ceiling, was too familiar for her.

 _Even the smell is the same,_ she thought.

The first servant led them into the dining room off to the right while the second went up the stairs, presumably to fetch Blood. Alice sat down at the seat she was offered at the long wooden table that spanned the length of the room, her back to the window.

“The bosses will be here in a few minutes. Can I get you anything to drink?” asked the servant.

 _Bosses?_ Alice thought he'd made a slip of the tongue until she remembered that Blood would likely have Elliot to accompany him.

“I don't suppose you serve hard liquor?” asked Gowland, taking a seat to Alice's right.

“I-I could ask...” stammered the servant.

“It was just a joke. I'll have a glass of lemon water. Alice?”

She shook her head. The last thing she could think about now was eating and drinking.

As the servant disappeared through the door, Gowland muttered, “My, the staff here are like mice. Is Blood running them on some kind of military regimen?”

Alice had always remembered the faceless working at the mansion being happy, at least from what she'd seen. Most likely they were anticipating their boss's reaction at seeing her here. She hoped neither servant would get in trouble for letting her in.

“Speak of the devil,” said Gowland, standing up. Alice followed his lead, almost knocking her chair over.

The moment Blood walked into the room, Alice felt her heart stop. He looked exactly as she remembered: white tailcoat, narrow eyes, black hair that just brushed his shoulders. He was wearing his usual black top hat, and in one hand he carried his cane. Sure enough, Elliot followed him.

This was it. This was what she'd been dreading. Despite only having been apart for a couple of weeks, Alice felt like her whole life had been building up to this moment.

Blood paused over his chair to stare at Alice, as if just noticing her for the first time. Alice had to fight every urge in her body not to shrink to the floor beneath his gaze.

When he finally spoke, his voice was low and dangerous. “Tell me, Mary. Is this a joke, or are you trying to insult me?”

Alice held her breath. _He won't even talk to my face._ She noticed Gowland's hand curling into a fist by his side at the mention of his detested first name.

“Alice is here as my guest in Boris's place,” said Gowland. Alice was impressed at the level of calm in his voice, despite his obvious discomfort.

The four of them took their seats. Alice made sure to keep her eyes on a spot just above Elliot's shoulder to avoid meeting Blood's gaze. She could feel the pistol knocking against the chair leg as she sat.

“You are aware the young lady is in exile from my territory?” said Blood, the corners of his mouth turning up ever so slightly.

 _He looks so smug. Is he... enjoying this?_ A sudden, unexpected rush of rage made Alice blurt out, “Didn't you hear him? I'm here as a representative of the Amusement Park, which is perfectly acceptable according to the rules and your invitation. Besides, it was _your_ servants who let us in.”

The few seconds of silence that followed were so tense, Alice could almost hear the blood rushing past her ears. Then, slowly, Blood turned his dark eyes on her. “That may be so, but as an Outsider, just staying in a territory doesn't make you a part of it. That means you are unable to appear as a representative, and the rules are void.”

An idea hit Alice. Looking to Gowland, she said, “Do you have any money on you?”

“I, uh...” Gowland reached into his pockets and pulled out two coins. Ignoring his look of confusion, Alice snatched them from his hand and slammed them down onto the table.

“There. Now that he's paying me, I'm officially an employee of the Amusement Park and fit to represent the territory.” She stared at Blood, challenging him to dispute her.

But either he could find no fault with her logic, or he was finished with arguing, because he leaned back in his chair and smirked. “Very well, then. Let's do what we came here to do. Elliot?”

“Right.” Up until that point, the hare had been so quiet, Alice had almost forgotten he was there. Folding his arms, he said, “The last meeting ended with neither side coming to an agreement. Therefore, we, the Hatters, present our proposal again: we intend to take from you strip of land from Warden Forest to the village of Hatch and add it to our territory.”

“And _I'm_ telling you that land will always remain mine. A lot of my workers and their families live in Hatch. What makes you think I'm going to give up a portion of my workforce?”

From the way Gowland was talking, it appeared that the faceless were forbidden from working in a territory that was different to the one they belonged to. On the surface, Gowland seemed to care about them, but the truth was his concern was focused on the workers he was losing, not the fact that the faceless themselves would wake up one morning and find out they were jobless and in Hatter territory. They really were just treated like pawns by the role-holders.

“In that case, I'll be taking it from you by force,” said Blood as calmly as if he were announcing dinner plans.

“Like hell you will,” Gowland snarled.

Alice caught his wrist under the table and squeezed it, hoping that the simple gesture would calm him down. Luckily, he sighed and lowered his voice when he next spoke: “I'm sure both of us want to avoid a bloodbath, Hatter, so I'm willing to negotiate.”

“Oh, I wouldn't be adverse to a bloodbath, but I'll hear your counter-offer.”

Gowland placed both hands on the table. “I offer you Warden Forest on its own.”

Blood raised an eyebrow. “No deal. I want Hatch. In fact, I have a small army of faceless ready to march in and take the village as early as the next time period.”

“If you dare step foot onto my land...” Gowland leaped to his feet, and for a moment, Alice thought he was going to lunge across the table at Blood. She stood and grabbed his arm to hold him back.

The _click_ of a gun made both of them freeze.

Alice looked up to see Elliot standing, his pistol aimed directly at Gowland. The firm set of his jaw carried a hard warning: he wouldn't hesitate to shoot.

Blood, who was the only one still sat down, laughed softly. “I'd hate to be the first side to shoot at what should be a peaceful meeting, but I don't take kindly to threats in my own home. Perhaps you'd like to reconsider how you were going to end that sentence.”

The sound of someone clearing their throat made everyone look at the doorway simultaneously. Standing there with a tray of drinks in his hand was the servant from before. The timing was so convenient, Alice wondered if he hadn't been there for a few minutes, waiting for the perfect moment to intervene.

“Sh-shall I come back?” he asked.

“No, you might as well serve it now,” said Blood, sighing nonchalantly.

With one last glare at Gowland, Elliot put away his gun and sat down. Alice tapped Gowland's arm, and the pair of them took their seats as well. The servant walked a circuit around the table, setting down the drinks as he went: tea for Blood and Elliot, and a glass of water with a single floating lemon slice for Gowland. Despite not having asked for anything, Alice had a clear glass of water placed in front of her. She thanked the servant quietly before he scuttled off out of the room.

Now that the tension had diffused somewhat, Blood's voice returned to its normal, cool tone. “You see, that's the problem with you, Mary.” He dropped a spoonful of sugar into his tea and stirred. “You let your emotions dictate your words far too much.”

“You're one to talk,” Alice snapped. “You've done nothing but be rude to him. That sounds like 'letting your emotions dictate your words' to me.”

Blood paused a moment before smiling, his eyes dropping to his tea. “What about you, then, Alice? Let's talk about why you're here. I'm sure it's no coincidence that you volunteered to come in the cat's place, effectively risking your life, just for a territory meeting. Perhaps you wanted to prove something to me. Perhaps...” He looked up at her, his eyes full of amusement. “You wanted me to see how strong you were on your own.”

Alice froze. He'd seen right through her.

“Your body language suggests strength, but I can sense, lurking beneath that mask you've put on, you're broken up inside. It must have taken all your strength to come here today. Yet despite that, you've managed to hold yourself together without so much as a tear. Well, young lady, colour me impressed.”

Only when he'd finished speaking did Alice realise she'd started shaking. Blood's words hit her like daggers, but she couldn't fight them because they were true. She'd been trying to hard to build herself up without Blood, but at the end of the day, it was all an act. Deep down, she was still so fragile.

Rage boiled beneath her skin. _Even after all this time, he can read me better than anyone._ And she hated it.

“Come on, Alice. We're leaving.” Gowland placed a hand on her shoulder. “It's obvious this meeting isn't going anywhere.”

Alice opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out, so she shook her head. They couldn't leave yet, not with the negotiations unfinished.

But Gowland seemed more eager than ever to be out of the room. He slipped his hand under her elbow and gave her a pull, hard enough to break her out of her stupor.

Blood took a sip of tea and paused with the cup beneath his chin. “It's a shame we couldn't come to some sort of agreement. Rest assured I'll be moving to take Hatch at the nearest opportunity.”

“Don't think I'll just stand idly by,” snarled Gowland. “I'll make sure the first bullet I fire will be straight into your head.”

The pair of servants were already at the door to escort them to the gates. Gritting his teeth, Gowland marched out of the room. Alice got one final look at Blood, smirking after her, before she left the room.

Stepping out into the fresh air was like coming up to breathe after almost drowning. She hadn't realised how suffocating the atmosphere in that room had been. Being together with Blood for that long, especially towards the end, had almost broken her. But she'd done it. Surely that, on its own, was something to be proud of?

Her last glimpse of Blood's face was burnt into her mind. Unlike her, whose facade he'd managed to pick apart so accurately, he'd seemed genuinely unfazed by her being there. It was almost like he'd expected her to show up. Had she been correct when she'd suggested to Boris that the whole meeting was just an excuse for him to reach her through her friends? In which case, she'd played right into his hands.

_I can't let him think he's won._

Alice stopped at the gates. Gowland, noticing she wasn't by his side, turned and asked, “What are you doing?”

“I'm going to speak with Blood alone. He can't just be rude to you like that without consequences.” Her feet had already began to take her back to the mansion. “Give me a few minutes, okay? I'll be fine.”

“Wait, Alice! That's a bad idea,” Gowland called, but it was no use. Alice was already sprinting along the path.


	9. Table

Blood and Elliot were still sat at the table as Alice marched into the dining room, panting from the run. Both of them looked up at the same time.

“We need to talk.”

Elliot frowned. “But Alice, the meeting's over—”

“Not you.” She pointed at Blood. “Him.”

The men exchanged a glance before Blood sighed and muttered, “Fine. Leave us for now, Elliot.”

Reluctantly, the hare stood up and left the room. Alice noticed he actively looked in the other direction as he walked past her. He closed the door behind him.

Now that she was alone with Blood at last, Alice felt that familiar wave of nausea rise within her, tying her tongue and stomach in knots. She'd briefly planned what she was going to say during the run back to the mansion, but now she found herself unable to form even a simple sentence.

Blood placed his teacup back onto the plate and looked up at her, dark eyes peering out from beneath the brim of his top hat. “What you came back to talk about, I hope it's worth it.”

“Why were you so rude to Gowland?” Alice finally said. “It's like you were intentionally trying to rile him up.”

Blood laughed softly. “It doesn't take much to rile that man up, as you put it. He's far too sensitive for someone of his age. Besides, as territory leaders, we're enemies. I thought you'd have known that by now.”

Alice narrowed her eyes. “What about me, then? You seemed to be enjoying putting me down. Am I your enemy?”

“You?” Blood frowned slightly as he seemed to understand what she was referring to. “Oh, I see. You're angry I managed to see through your mask.” He turned around in his chair to face her, one leg folded over the other. “It wasn't an insult. I wasn't lying when I said you were impressed.”

His words took Alice aback. She paused a moment to wrap her head around what he was saying. “Not an insult? You called me broken. How is that anything but an insult?”

“I did use that word, didn't I?” said Blood calmly. “And I believe you are broken, even if you try to hide it. I can only imagine how hard it must be for you to step back into the mansion we once shared.”

There was a hint of sympathy to his voice that made Alice want to simultaneously burst into tears and strike him around the face. She gritted her teeth and shouted, “Why are you being so patronising? If you truly cared how I felt, you would have reached out to me properly instead of arranging some stupid territory meeting with Gowland.” She waved a hand at him. “You're not the only one who can see through people, Blood. I know this whole thing was just an excuse to lure me out. Like you care about some village on the edge of your territory.”

The smirk returned to Blood's face. “You're right.”

 _He admitted it just like that._ Alice was a little shocked, to say the least. “So, this whole meeting was a waste of time?”

“I wouldn't say that.”

“But you'll leave Hatch and Warden Forest alone?”

Blood sighed. “If that's what you want, then fine. I have no use for either of them. But don't think that just because you occasionally wander into my thoughts, I'm ready to forgive you for betraying me. In truth, I have been... bored without you around.”

Once, Alice might have found such a confession endearing, but now she felt anger prickle beneath her skin. “Bored. So, that's what I was to you, was it? A plaything for your amusement. You don't miss me or feel upset, but rather bored?”

It was just as Elliot had said when he'd come to visit her. Blood didn't care that she was gone. All he missed was his source of entertainment. She felt disgusted that she'd spent so many hours crying over this man.

“You're assuming too much,” was all Blood said in retaliation.

“Oh, am I?” Alice felt her voice rising. “What about your threats to shoot me? Technically, without Gowland here, I'm trespassing on your property right now. Are you going to kill me?”

Blood shrugged. He seemed oblivious to her rage, and that just made Alice detest him more. “I _should_ shoot you. It's what I promised. But I don't think I will.”

“Why? Don't want to break your favourite toy?” Alice snarled.

“Once again, _you're_ the one making assumptions here, young lady. I'm only being realistic with myself. Perhaps at the beginning, I would have been able to hold myself to my promise, but now...” His face glossed over, and Alice thought she glimpsed a slither of pain in his eyes. Could it be that deep beneath his smooth words, he, too, shared her sadness at their breakup?

Whatever true feeling Blood had let momentarily rise to the surface, it quickly disappeared when he shook his head and gestured to her dress. “I see you've come prepared for a gun fight, anyhow.”

Alice flinched. “What are you talking about?”

“You're carrying a handgun in your pocket. I noticed it as you walked in. One side of your dress skirt was swinging more than the other from the weight.” Blood leaned against one arm and raised his chin triumphantly.

Realising that there was no use trying to hide it from him, Alice took the gun out of her pocket. She could hear Boris's voice in her head, showing her how to work each individual component in case she found herself needing to use it.

“Oh, how interesting.” Blood stood up and peered at the weapon in her hand. “That's Boris's gun, isn't it? I suppose it makes sense. You are staying in his territory, after all.”

Slowly, Blood began to walk towards her. Alice had to fight the urge not to retreat. “Stay back, Blood, or I'll—”

“You'll what? Shoot me?” The Hatter raised his hands by his sides. “I'm not stopping you. Shoot me with Boris's gun, if that's what you really want.”

Alice's mind raced. On the one hand, she was repulsed by the weapon in her hand, but on the other, Blood exuded a danger that made her reluctant to put it down. She aimed it at his shoulder with one shaking hand.

“What are you waiting for?” Blood stopped in front of her, his eyes gleaming with menace. “Do it.”

Alice looked up. She'd almost forgotten how tall Blood was – the top of her head only just reached his chin.

“Besides, you're aiming wrong.” Blood grabbed the barrel of the gun in his gloved hand and placed the tip against his chest. His voice dropped to a low whisper. “If you want to make sure you kill me, shoot here. The bullet should pass straight through my clock. Or...” He moved his hand so that the tip of the gun buried into the soft spot skin beneath his chin. “This might be an easier shot. Messier, too, if you're prepared to witness such a thing, though I'm sure it would kill me instantly. Even though I can feel your hand shaking, it should be impossible to miss.”

He was so close that Alice could feel his breath on her hair. Her finger twitched on the trigger. It would have been so easy to end it then and there with just a pull of her muscle, but was that what she really wanted? A small part of her wanted to make Blood pay for all the pain he'd put her through since their breakup. Yet she doubted killing him would bring her that satisfaction.

Besides, it was what _he_ wanted, and she couldn't let him win.

Leaning into her ear, Blood whispered, “Do it. What's stopping you?”

His hair brushed Alice's cheek, sending shivers down her spine. She could faintly pick up his scent, unchanged from the nights they'd spent together, wrapped up in one another as they slept. He pulled back, the gun still buried in the top of his throat, and Alice found herself staring into dark turquoise eyes.

She wasn't sure who made the first move, only that the moment their lips touched, her heart stopped. She froze for a second. Then Blood slipped his hand around the back of her head, and the world fell apart around her.

The gun fell to the carpet with a soft _thud_. Alice tangled her hands in Blood's hair and moved her lips with his, relishing the heat of their embrace. The rational part of her mind was screaming at her to resist, but it was a primal urge that drove her actions, beyond reason or sense. She needed this. She needed _him_.

Her back hit the edge of the table. Throwing his hat aside, Blood pushed her down onto the tabletop and pinned her beneath his body. His lips assaulted her jawline, her neck, his breath hot on her skin.

“Blood,” she moaned.

“Don't speak,” came the returning whisper. From the desperation in his voice, Alice could tell that like her, he was driven purely by desire.

 _It isn't fair._ She'd come along so far alone in the past few weeks, done everything she could to make herself stronger, only to end up in his arms again. She hated herself for not being able to deny her own desires, even as Blood fumbled with her skirts. Then his hands were at his hips, easing down his trousers.

Alice knew this was her last chance to stop things before they went too far. But even if she tried to hold back, she doubted her body would respond. She grabbed his head and pulled him into another kiss, wrapping her tongue around his, vaguely aware of the sounds she was making but not caring enough to stop.

With their mouths still locked together, Blood held her by the hips and pulled her so that she was just on the edge of the table. He didn't remove her underwear, but pushed it aside with his thumb, exposing her to him. The head of his cock rubbed against her entrance, and then he began to push into her. Alice hadn't given herself enough time to get properly wet, so instead of the smooth, overstretched feeling she'd anticipated came a sharp pain that made her want to cry out. Not that it stopped Blood. He continued to force himself forward until their hips met and he was sheathed inside her completely.

He started to thrust into her straight away. Alice threw her head back and raised her knees, trying to find a position that would reduce the friction and the pain. Blood grabbed the exposed section of thigh above her stocking and hitched her leg up and around his waist. She hooked her ankles around him, drawing him closer. The table creaked beneath their combined weights.

This was wrong. And yet everything about it just felt _right_. She trembled beneath his touch, so familiar to her but somehow like a stranger's. Each thrust was vigorous, consuming, rocking her to her core.

“Blood,” she panted again.

“I know. It's okay,” he moaned into her ear. His voice was surprisingly gentle despite the intensity of the moment.

Straightening his back, Blood propped himself up on his arms and leaned over her. Alice looked up into his face. His eyes were narrowed slightly, hair hanging down like black feathers, lips parted as he groaned softly in time with his thrusts. Alice wanted to kiss him again, but he was too far away, so instead she reached beneath his waistcoat and pulled out his shirt, exposing a section of midriff. She slipped her hands under and ran her fingers across his taut stomach as far as the material would let her.

Blood breathed her name, and Alice could tell that he was nearing his climax. She pulled back her hands, grabbed his jacket lapels and pulled him down, her own shoulders leaving the table. Their lips met in the middle. Alice thrust her tongue into Blood's mouth, their lips moving so vigorously together it was impossible to tell who was leading the kiss. Blood slipped his hands behind her back and held her to him. His movements were becoming sloppy. Sensing he was on the edge, Alice leaned back against the table and bucked her hips against him.

Blood broke the kiss and buried his face in her hair, groaning as he came. His body trembled against Alice, who clung to him like a rock in an ocean storm. When his breathing had returned to normal, he pulled back and looked down at her with wide eyes, as if he, too, he couldn't believe what had just happened.

“Alice, I...” he began, then cleared his throat.

He pulled back and quickly buttoned his trousers, allowing Alice to sit up on the table. Her cheeks burned red, though whether it was from embarrassment, exertion or horror, she didn't know. She stared at Blood. His lapels were crooked from where Alice had held them, the front of his shirt ruffled and hanging loose.

This had been a mistake. She'd betrayed herself for the sake of her desires. Her stomach dropped. Suddenly, she wanted to be as far away from this man as possible.

“Are you okay?” Blood reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, but Alice batted it away.

He stood aside, shocked, as she slipped off the table and made a run for the door. Her body felt sore, the base of her back aching after having been pressed against the hard wood, but she didn't care. All she knew was she had to get out of this mansion before she could do any more damage than she'd already done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love posting the first chapter that gives a story its E rating. :')
> 
> Poor Elliot will get his screen time soon.


	10. Branch

Alice ran until her legs ached and her lungs felt like they'd been torn in two, and then she carried on running. Her mind was was spinning with what she'd just done. Guilt and horror fought for dominance inside her until she was so swallowed up with emotion she had to stop.

She'd managed to find the forest path that she and Gowland had taken here, though whether or not she'd passed the Clock Tower, the halfway point between the mansion and the Amusement Park, she wasn't sure. Her body shaking with exertion, she collapsed onto all fours and coughed. Each breath ripped from her throat like a razor blade.

It had all been so fast. One moment she'd been standing her own against Blood, the next she'd been in his arms. It would have been easy to blame him for seducing her, but the fact was that she'd wanted it just as much. Just for a few moments, she'd needed to feel like she was his again, and now she'd ended up destroying everything she'd worked so hard for.

Wiping her mouth against the back of her hand, Alice pulled herself to her feet. Her chest was still sore from the run, but she didn't feel dizzy anymore. She looked up. The sun was still shining, light filtering down through the trees. She felt dirty in her own clothes. More than anything, she wanted to return to her own apartment, change into something clean and be alone.

Naturally, she couldn't hide away from Boris and Gowland forever. But what should she tell them? Thinking about Boris, in particular, made her feel a whole new kind of shame. She'd begun to fall for him. How could she tell him what she'd done with Blood? Even though they weren't any kind of a couple, it still felt like she'd betrayed him.

Alice closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair. The most important thing, she supposed, was that Blood had called off his attack on Gowland's territory. After all, that was what the meeting had been about in the first place. Opening her eyes, she began to walk again. She needed to give her mind room to calm down before she started making decisions. Just because she'd made one mistake, it didn't make her any weaker in the long run. Blood was still her ex. She could still build herself up. This didn't _mean_ anything.

Perhaps if she repeated that enough, she'd start to believe it.

By the time she saw the ferris wheel peeking above the trees, the time period had turned to dusk. Deciding to make a quick detour, Alice headed to the Amusement Park. The faceless inside the entrance booth, the same woman who'd been been there the last time she'd visited with Boris, smiled as she approached.

“How can I help you, dear?” she said.

“I'm looking for Boris. Have you seen him?”

“No, I'm afraid.”

“What about Gowland?”

The woman shook her head. “Not for a while. Would you like to go inside and look for them there?”

Alice shook her head. If Gowland wasn't back, she doubted Boris would be inside, either. She thanked the woman and left. Home it was, then.

She'd just started on the path back to the village when a familiar voice called her name. Her heart leaped.

“Boris?” She spun around, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Up here.”

Alice looked up to see him lying on a thick tree branch ten feet up. His tail hung down, the tip flicking back and forth playfully.

“What are you doing?” she asked, a little shocked.

“Waiting for you, of course. Where's Gowland?”

Alice frowned. “He's not back?”

“Nope.” Flipping onto his front, Boris gripped the branch under his knees and fell backwards. For one terrifying moment, Alice thought he was going to fall, but instead he hung upside down from the branch, his eyes level with hers. “I thought you two would have come back together.”

“We were going to. At least, that's what I assumed,” said Alice. Gowland hadn't been waiting for her outside the gates when she'd fled the mansion. She'd paid little attention to it at the time, but now she suspected he'd been forcibly removed by the servants. Surely he wouldn't leave her on her own in enemy territory of his own free will?

She sighed and looked at the ground. “To tell the truth, I went back into the mansion after the meeting was over.”

“Oh?” Boris pulled himself up onto the branch, then dropped to the ground and straightened. “What happened?”

Alice paused. She couldn't tell Boris the truth, but she refused to lie to him outright, either. “I wanted to talk to Blood alone. The meeting didn't end the way it should have done, so I sorted things out with him. He's agreed to leave the territory border as it is.”

Boris's ears perked up. “Really? That's excellent. I didn't think... Are you all right?”

“I'm fine. Sorry.” Alice hadn't even realised that the tears welling up in her eyes were visible until then. She wiped at them with her thumb. “It was just seeing him again, is all.”

“Alice.” Boris's tone became serious. “Did he hurt you?”

 _Not in the way you think,_ Alice wanted to say, but she sniffed and shook her head. “No.”

His eyes bored into her, and she wondered if he could tell she was lying. But if he sensed anything, he didn't show it. Stepping forward, he wrapped his arms around her and held her to his chest.

“If the bastard ever hurts you, I'll kill him myself,” Boris mumbled into her hair.

Alice buried her face into his boa and exhaled. There was no escaping the guilt she felt, even if she told Boris what had happened. What was the point of hurting him, too?

“By the way, do you have my gun?”

She stiffened. The last time she'd held Boris's gun, the tip had been wedged into Blood's jaw. She must have dropped it on the floor when they'd started kissing. She made a show of checking her dress pockets. “It's not here. I must have dropped it when I was running.”

“No matter.” Boris was clearly trying to hide his irritation, but a little leaked into his voice. “I can always get one of the Twins to return it. Say, Alice.” He looked up at her. “You'd tell me if something was wrong, wouldn't you?”

Alice met his eyes. For a moment, she thought she saw an accusation there. She laughed nervously. “Of course. You'd be the first I tell.”

“Right,” said Boris softly. “That's good.” He ran a hand through his hair and smiled, and just like that, the cheerfulness returned to his face. “You must be tired. Would you like me to walk you home?”

“I'd like that.”

After Boris had dropped her off, Alice locked the door and started to strip, throwing each piece of clothing on the bed as it came off. When she was down to her underwear, she combed out her long hair with her fingers and brushed it behind her shoulders. Then she looked down at the bed.

A piece of paper stuck out from underneath her pile of clothes. She flopped onto the mattress, picked it up and froze when she saw her name written in familiar, loopy handwriting. There was something else there, too, something silver. Slowly, Alice reached under and pulled out Boris's gun.

_He was here in my room._

Fighting back a growing feeling of dread, Alice popped the seal on the letter and opened it out. Two short lines stared back at her:

_The Crooked Tree, next evening cycle._

_Meet me there._


	11. Slate

He was waiting for her just off the forest path, leaning back against a tree with an open book in his hand. Alice stopped when she saw him, wondering if she should turn back, until he looked up and trapped her in his gaze.

“You're here,” said Blood casually, placing the book in his back pocket. “For a while, I thought you weren't going to come.”

 _You and me both,_ Alice thought, though she said nothing. The Crooked Tree towered above her head, its twisted branches overhanging the path like brown snakes wrapping around one another, dotted with tiny purple and green leaves. As far as Alice knew, there was no other tree in Wonderland that looked like this, earning it its nickname among the residents.

For a while, neither of them said anything. A light breeze swept through the forest, lifting the hem of Alice's dress and ruffling Blood's hair beneath his hat. Finally, Alice broke the silence with the question that had been burning on her mind: “How did you know where my apartment was?”

“Elliot told me when he came back from visiting you.”

Alice was a little surprised Elliot would admit that he'd come to see her, what with him being Blood's right hand and her an enemy of the Hatters. She could only assume Blood had given him permission beforehand.

“Have you told him I came back after the meeting?” she asked.

“No,” said Blood. “Have you told anyone?”

Alice shook her head.

“Good.” Blood averted his eyes, and Alice thought she sensed a hint of guilt in his expression. “Let's keep it that way.”

He walked over to the huge, overlapping roots of the Crooked Tree, each one as thick as his arm, and sat down. Alice scoured the ground until she found a suitable place to sit herself, close enough to Blood that they could speak but far enough that she could maintain her personal space. After last time, she was determined not to let him get close.

“What are we doing, Blood?” she mumbled, staring at a spot between his feet.

“We're... talking,” he said, a little hesitantly.

“No, I mean, what are we _doing_? You throw me out of your territory, but refuse to shoot me when I violate your terms. You call me a plaything, then invite me out here to speak with you.” She sighed. “It is so exhausting trying to work out where I stand in your eyes.” _And where you stand in mine,_ she added in her head.

Blood stretched out his legs and folded his arms. “For starters, you're the one who used the word 'plaything'. All I said was that I was bored without you there, and I stand by those words.”

“Sounds like you were really suffering. While you were bored, I spent two weeks so broken I could barely eat or sleep,” said Alice bitterly.

“That wasn't my intention, and I apologise for making you feel like that.”

Alice searched his voice for any hint of mockery, but he seemed to be speaking from the heart. She hadn't been expecting that. She frowned and turned her head away sharply. “Does it matter? If you cared how I felt in the first place, you never would have left me like you did.”

She remembered the icy tone to Blood's words as he'd announced her exile after her fight with Ace, how Julius had had to hold her back as he walked away. Every detail from that scene, every sound, every bit of pain she'd felt, was burned into her mind.

“Of course, I never wished to break you. But let's not forget that you hurt me, too. You didn't believe me when I told you I wasn't the one who broke those clocks. And, well, you and I both know how that ended up.”

“But I already told you. Ace was manipulating me...” As soon as the words left her mouth, Alice regretted them. While it was true Ace had framed Blood, she had to take responsibility for the fact that she'd willingly gone along with him. She looked up at Blood to find him staring at her. “You're right. I never properly apologised to you for that. I never knew Ace was going to humiliate you at the ball in front of everyone.”

“Humiliation is one thing. Naturally, I guard my reputation fiercely, and what happened at the ball was... unsavoury. But what cut deeper was that you didn't listen to me when I tried to explain things to you. You didn't trust me.” His jaw tightened, as if he were struggling to find the right words.

It felt so strange for Alice to be sitting here talking about her feelings with Blood. She suspected it was the most open either of them had been with one another since the start of their relationship.

“I'm sorry,” she mumbled. “I'd never have hurt you like that deliberately.”

“When you fought Ace in that duel, I thought he was going to kill you. I watched him try and torture you into yielding. And I was powerless to help. By the nature of this world and my role, I have a very... intimate relationship with death. But when I knew I was about to watch you die, I felt angry with the world, angry with myself for not being able to protect you, but most of all, angry with you for putting yourself in that position.” Blood took his hat off his head and placed it in his lap. He seemed to be rambling now, something Alice had never seen him do. “It felt like weakness to have those kinds of feelings all of a sudden. Is that weakness, Alice?”

“You mean, is it weakness to be worried for someone you care about?” Alice wasn't sure what kind of answer to give. “What about Elliot or the Twins? If they died, would you consider yourself weak for mourning them?”

Blood snorted. “It's different with us. Death isn't usually an end. But you, young lady, are irreplaceable.” His fingers picked over his hat, removing any stray pieces of dust and lint. “After the Watchmaker stepped in to save you and I was set free, I had to make a decision: move forward with you, or cut off all ties. I chose the latter. I wanted to be free of these feelings, but most of all, I wanted to humiliate you just like you'd done to me.”

It would have been easy for Alice to feel offended by his confession, but more than anything, she was shocked at him opening up to her like this. Normally, getting Blood to admit even the simplest of feelings was like trying to wring water out of hay.

“Thank you for being honest with me, at least,” she said.

Blood chuckled softly. “Naturally. Perhaps you could say I needed to get things off my chest.”

“And do you feel better?”

“Somewhat.” After a final inspection of his hat, Blood placed it back on his head.

Alice studied his face. If there was something she'd learned about Blood during their relationship, it was that he was a natural liar, a trait that went hand in hand with his perception. Of course, there was a chance that everything he'd just said had been a lie, but Alice had a feeling he was telling the truth, or part of it. Blood was the leader of the Hatters, a man with more power and wealth than anyone else in Wonderland (excluding Vivaldi, maybe), and someone who was used to getting his own way. It made sense that his response to anything that made him feel powerless was to lash out. After all, it was all he'd over known.

She tilted her chin up defiantly. “It doesn't change the way things are, though.”

 _And knowing why you behave the way you do doesn't make it acceptable,_ she added internally.

“You're right. If anything, it makes me sick to think I have to take responsibility for my behaviour,” said Blood with a lazy sigh. “But if that's the way it has to go, then I suppose it's for the better. What happened after the meeting taught me that the pair of us still holds at least some kind of feelings for one another.”

 _That's one way to put it,_ thought Alice, her cheeks turning red.

“What happened was a mistake,” she mumbled.

“Really? I quite enjoyed it.”

Alice opened her mouth to shout at him, but realising he'd probably find that funny, kept silent. He had a point, though. There was no use trying to deny her feelings for Blood, even if that area of her mind was a mess right now.

“Either way, I intend to end your exile and invite you back to the mansion.”

Alice hated the way her heart jumped at his words. “Thank you, but I already have a home.”

“I meant as my guest, Alice,” said Blood, the corner of his lips turning up. “As friends.”

“Friends?” Alice frowned. Would she be able to restart a friendship with Blood after everything that had happened? What if she just ended up hurting herself again?

“Indeed. With no expectations going forward.”

“A clean slate.”

“If you like.” Blood leaned forward a little, clearly expecting to receive an answer on the spot.

Alice wasn't sure she could decide so quickly. Part of her wanted to trust him and say 'yes', but now that she thought about it, almost every bad situation she'd ended up in thus far had begun with just that – blind trust. If she were to enter into any kind of relationship with the Hatter again, platonic or more, she'd force herself to take it slowly.

“Fine,” she said. “Friends, it is.”

Grunting, Blood stood up. Alice was about to do the same, when he extended his hand to her. She hesitated before reaching out and allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. He held her hand for a few seconds, his gloved thumb running gently along the back of her knuckles, and Alice had a vision of a tea party at the Hatter Mansion an age back, Blood leaning over to plant a kiss on the back of her hand.

_How lovely of you to join us, young lady._

Slowly, Alice pulled her hand away. She caught a glimpse of Blood's smirk before he turned, picked his way over to the tree he'd first been leaning against and picked up his cane. Alice hadn't even noticed it lying there among the roots.

“Of course,” said Blood, resting the end of his cane on his shoulder, “there's the chance one of us will get so sick of the other, they'll end up shooting them, after all. You seemed to know your way around that gun well enough.” His eyes sparkled playfully.

“Believe me, I'm through with guns,” said Alice, letting herself relax enough to smile. “I could always try daggers next. You know, assassination by moonlight.” She mimed stabbing someone in the back.

“Mm. Not that I would be averse to you visiting me at night and holding me down, even if there was a dagger in your hand.”

Alice grimaced. _I kind of set myself up for that one._

Still, it was refreshing to be able to joke around with Blood like this after so many weeks of hardship. Underneath it all, though, she sensed a familiar dread simmering, a feeling that everything would crash and burn again. Blood had promised her a clean slate, a chance for both of them to put their pasts behind them and start anew. Could she really abandon her emotions like that?

Alice sighed. _Just what have I signed myself up for?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was such a pain in the arse to write and I have no idea why lol. I feel I could have shortened this conversation a fair bit, but whatever. These two needed some kind of reconciliation. Leave a comment if you're enjoying the story! It means so much to know what readers think, and it really helps and motivates me with my writing.


	12. Hat

After seeing Alice off in the direction of the Amusement Park, Blood set off south along the path. It would take him half an hour or so to cross the border of his territory, and just as long again to reach his mansion. Not that he minded the walk. With the demands of his role, there was usually little time for him to go outside unless it was for an errand. Even then, the routes he took to the other territories almost always went around this section of forest. He'd almost forgotten what it was like to stroll under the trees alone.

He hummed to himself as he walked, twirling his cane absent-mindedly. The sun was still shining overhead, the rays reflecting off the dust motes in the air and giving his surroundings an almost luminous quality. Blood made a mental note to come out here again when he had the time. Perhaps he could go with Alice again.

He felt his lips turn up. To think that he was already planning out activities for him and the young lady to do together. He'd opened up far more than he'd meant to, but overall, he felt better for it. Normally, he saw no reason to be open with his feelings; he was the one who had to deal with them, after all, so what business were they of anyone else? Then again, he remembered Elliot telling him more than once that he'd be happier if he were more honest with his emotions and confided in a friend every now and then.

 _Well, Elliot,_ he thought, _don't say I never listen to you._

An image of Alice sitting on the forest floor, staring at a spot near his feet, came into him. She'd seemed quieter than usual when he'd suggested they rekindle a friendship. Reluctant, almost. Not that he blamed her. It had been a strange few weeks. They'd gone from enemies to something like lovers so quickly, Blood could barely keep a handle on it. What had happened after the meeting had been unexpected, but if it proved one thing to Blood, it was that he still had feelings for Alice, no matter how much he tried to drown them in anger or apathy.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of something rustling nearby. Blood paused to peer into the bushes. There was nothing there that he could see. Assuming it to be a rabbit or other small animal, he carried on walking.

The world exploded into gunshots.

Blood threw himself to the ground. Luckily, none of the bullets had hit him, but he'd felt them whizz past his head. Whoever had shot at him had aimed to kill. He raised his cane and willed it to change forms. With a flash of light, his machine gun materialised in his arms.

Another barrage of bullets shook the air around him. This time, one of them grazed his shoulder. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Blood leaped towards the nearest tree and crouched behind it. He'd be able to take cover more easily if he knew where his attacker was coming from, but as he scoured the forest, he realised he had no idea how many people were even shooting at him, let alone where they were hiding. He threw his hat to the ground and ran his eyes over the trees, trying to pick out a flash of colour, a movement, anything that would identify his assailants.

Somewhere nearby, a twig snapped under someone's foot. Blood spun. He just made out the shape of a person peeking out from behind a tree before he opened fire, filling them with bullets and knocking them back into the undergrowth. A second dark figure caught his eye. Blood shot at it, only for the bullets to pass straight through. He stared at it in confusion. That was when he realised the figure was shimmering and black from head to toe. An afterimage.

 _But how?_ he thought. Dead bodies usually took a few minutes to change into afterimages, so it likely hadn't come from the faceless he'd just shot. Unless it was here with his attacker, although Blood had never heard of a faceless and afterimage working together.

Another barrage of bullets made him decide that speculation was best saved for after. Luckily, his attacker seemed to be shooting wildly to cover a wider area, so Blood was able to duck into the undergrowth. His shoulder stung from where he'd been clipped, the blood already soaking his shirt beneath his coat.

Making sure to keep his head as low as possible, Blood peered through the trees. He could see his enemy up ahead, a red-haired faceless crouching close to the ground like him, though from this angle, it would be impossible to land a shot on him. He could leap to his feet and shoot like that, but there was no way of knowing if a third faceless was lurking nearby, waiting for his head to pop up so that he could plant a bullet in it.

He cursed under his breath. Somehow, he had to force the faceless up ahead to stand up. Suddenly, he had an idea. His hat lay at the base of the tree behind him. He crawled over, picked it up and held it for a second.

 _Damn it,_ he thought, and threw it up into the air.

No sooner had his hat left the undergrowth, it was blasted with shots from two sides, one lot coming from the red-haired faceless, the other from his right. Now he knew where the third shooter was hiding, Blood burst from the bushes and aimed his gun. The faceless only had a second to realise his mistake before Blood shot him straight through the head.

Blood's side exploded in pain. He grunted, almost dropping his gun as his vision flashed white. For one horrifying moment, he thought he'd been hit by a fourth attacker he hadn't taken prepared for, but then he turned and saw the redhead lining up his gun for another shot.

Fighting the dizziness that threatened to drag him down to the ground, Blood took aim and fired his last few bullets. The faceless cried out as he was shot.

For a while, Blood stood absolutely still. If anyone was left standing, now would be their chance to shoot him. But nobody did. It seemed he'd managed to get rid of all his attackers.

Blood let out a long, shaking breath. He didn't even want to look at the wound in his side. It didn't feel that deep, but its position just below his ribcage meant even breathing was agony. Most likely the bullet was still lodged inside him.

A muffled cry brought his attention to the red-haired faceless, who was squirming around up ahead, probably in an attempt to reach his gun. Blood knew he didn't have long. What he did next would have to be quick.

Carefully, he picked his way over to the faceless. His shirt was peppered with red splotches where Blood's bullets had pierced him. Blood looked him over. He was young, maybe around Alice's age, with nondescript clothing that didn't identify him as belonging to any territory. When he saw Blood standing over him, he let out a gasp of panic and made a grab for the handgun lying by his side. Blood kicked it away before he could touch it.

“So, tell me,” said Blood, trying his best to keep his voice even, “Heart Castle? Or was this Gowland's doing?”

The man tried to spit at him, but all that came out was a spray of blood. Blood looked down at him in disgust. _Fine, if this is how he wants to do it..._

Throwing his gun aside, Blood knelt down onto the faceless, digging each knee into the crook of his elbow, a spot he knew hurt like hell if pressure was applied. The man tried to struggle, but his energy was clearly spent, and Blood had him pinned to the ground.

“There's no use, Hatter. I'm dying anyway,” he rasped.

“I guarantee that I can make your last few minutes of life infinitely more unpleasant.”

“Do your worst.”

Whatever patience Blood had left finally dissipated. He grabbed the man by the throat and dug his fingers in.

“Who sent you?” he growled.

The sound that came out of the man resembled nails scratching against a blackboard. It took Blood a moment to realise he was laughing.

“Go to hell,” he said, and fell still.

Blood shook him by the throat a few times, but there was no response. He was dead.

Slowly, Blood released his grip. He straightened his back, only for a sudden light-headedness to knock him to the ground. He rolled onto his back and groaned. The world spun around him. He took one shaking hand, pressed it to his side and held it up. The tips of his gloves were red.

So, the blood had managed to soak through his shirt _and_ waistcoat. Perhaps he was in more trouble than he thought. He smiled and lay his head back against the ground. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been injured like this. It was humbling, in a way, to think that beneath his power, his wealth, his role, he was still just a man who went down just as easily as any of the faceless.

He wouldn't die here, though. That much was certain. Perhaps he'd just lie here for a few time periods and let his body heal itself. Wounds patched themselves up more quickly here than in Alice's world, though he anticipated he was going to be sore for a long time.

A shadow passed over him. Blood looked up to see an afterimage, presumably that of the man he'd just killed, standing at his feet. While he knew it couldn't hurt him, it was hard not to feel at least a little intimidated by its presence. It reached out a hand, and for a moment Blood thought it was going to touch him, but instead it picked up the clock at his side and clutched it to its body. The sight of it drifting away was the last thing Blood saw before his mind clouded over and he passed out.


	13. Face

“All right, that'll do for today,” said Boris.

“Great.” They'd been sparring on and off for about two hours now, and Alice was ready to drop.

Boris wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. “That so much better than last time. You're picking things up fast.”

Alice was too exhausted to thank him with words, so she raised a weak thumbs up. Turning to the lake, rippling under the midday sun, Alice flopped to the ground and leaned on one knee. Boris sat down a few paces away.

“What?” she asked, noticing he was staring at her.

“Nothing. You just look happier, is all.”

“Oh.” She raised her head, her breathing almost back to normal. “I'll stop.”

“No need. There's a twinkle in your eye that's been missing the last few weeks.” Boris shifted closer to her. “It's because of Blood, isn't it?”

“Huh?” Alice said, hoping Boris didn't sense the sudden rise in her voice. “What do you mean?”

“You went to see him. You broke the ice. Now you can move on with your life.” Boris gave her a wide, feline grin.

She searched his face for any signs that he suspected more than he was letting on. Finding none, she smiled. “I suppose you're right.”

 _If only he knew about the arrangement between Blood and me._ Boris had never been one to have a temper, but she imagined he would be furious if he found out she'd been seeing Blood secretly. She'd tell him eventually. It was just a case of sorting out her own affairs first.

“See, I told you everything would be fine,” said Boris, nudging her with his elbow. “You were right to come to the expert for advice.”

“Since when were you an expert in love?” snorted Alice.

“You've seen me up in the trees. I'm an observer. You'd be surprised about how many faceless come to the forest to break up with one another.”

Alice stared at him, waiting for him to tell her he was joking. “Are you serious?”

“You seem surprised. The faceless have lives like you and me, you know. Just... usually not as complex.”

“Of course,” said Alice. “Why the forest, though?”

“It's isolated. Nobody will hear if they get into an argument or one of them starts to cry. Besides,” he said, his voice dropping to a low purr, “that's not the only thing I've seen couples get up to in the forest.”

Alice wasn't sure whether to laugh or grimace. “And you just lie there and watch?”

“Sometimes.” He shrugged.

“That's gross.”

“Well, if they're stupid enough not to glance up every now and then...” Boris stretched out beside her, propped his head up on his side and snapped off a few blades of grass. “Sometimes I like to sit in the branches above them and see how many acorns I can drop onto them before the realise what's there.” He mimed the action by dropping the pieces of grass one by one onto the ground.

“Now I _know_ you're messing around,” giggled Alice.

Boris narrowly dodged her hand. “It's true!” he exclaimed before he, too, burst out into laughter.

“By the way,” he said once he'd somewhat recovered, “Gowland and I are having a card games tournament the night cycle after next. There's no proper betting involved, just a bit of fun. We'd love it if you joined us.”

Alice's heart fell. Just before parting ways with Blood under the Crooked Tree, she'd agreed to meet him at the mansion for that same time period. The coincidence would have been funny had she not suddenly leaped into panic to think of an excuse.

“I actually promised Julius I'd come to see him then,” she said.

“Oh.” Boris's expression fell. “Couldn't you see him afterwards? It's not like he's going anywhere.”

_Damn it, I need to think of something better._

“I'm going to be helping him with some chores. Cleaning up, cooking, that kind of thing. It'll probably take a few time periods.” She held her breath, hoping he wouldn't be able to tell she was making it up on the spot.

Boris tutted and rolled onto his back. “You're not his maid, Alice,” he grumbled, though it seemed he believed the lie.

“Julius is my friend. I help him out because I want to,” she said firmly.

“I'm surprised he's not mad, holed up inside all the time, staring at clocks. Personally, I've always found him a little creepy.”

 _Most people do,_ thought Alice with a sigh. She knew Julius was more or less hated in Wonderland because of his role. In fact, she and Ace were the only ones who regularly visited him out of choice. Or _used to_ visit him, in Ace's case.

She still needed to talk to Elliot about where Ace was imprisoned, though of course, she couldn't exactly just walk up to him in the mansion and ask. As far as he and the Twins knew, Alice was still banished from Hatter territory. She'd leave it up to Blood to tell them they'd reconciled as friends.

She stood up, raised her arms and stretched. Her body ached after their sparring session. She anticipated she had a couple of light bruises on her arms, despite Boris's efforts not to hurt her.

“Going for a swim?”

It was tempting, but Alice shook her head. “I was going to walk a circuit of the lake.”

“Want me to come with you?”

“It's all right. I won't be long.”

Boris flipped his boa across his eyes and slipped his arms under his head. He couldn't have looked more comfortable, spread out under the sun like a real cat.

There wasn't a defined path around the lake, so Alice made sure to take her time as she picked her way along the banks, stepping over roots and avoiding any muddy spots which threatened to soil her dress shoes. It didn't take her long to reach the other side. She looked back at the south bank and smiled when she saw Boris hadn't moved one inch.

She was directly beneath the cliffs now. Looking up, it was hard not to feel daunted by the sheer rock faces that stretched up into the sky. Back in her own world, the landscape where she'd lived had been almost completely flat, with only the occasional hill to add variety. Her family had taken her and her siblings on trips to lakes and the sea a few times.

She paused. Or _had_ they? It often worried her how much she seemed to be forgetting about her life at home. She'd try to remember something, only for it to slip away, like sand running through her fingertips.

No, she could definitely remember the beach. White clouds, grey shingle, foamy waves lapping at her toes. A simpler time, back when the only worries in her life were eating her vegetables and doing well at school, instead of gunfights, afterimages and charming men in top hats who seemed to have made it their goal to toy with her heart as much as possible.

Alice walked as close to the edge of the lake as she could without getting her shoes wet and kicked a stone into the water. It landed with a light _plop_ , producing a trio of rings that rippled along the surface. She peered into the water, trying to see where it had sunk. Then she jumped.

Where she'd expected to see her own reflection, a man's face stared up at her. Alice had to hold back the urge to scream. The face was pale, with a black eyepatch, red hair and a black jester's jet. She leaned closer, wondering if the sun had managed to affect her eyes and she was just seeing a skewed version of her own reflection in the rippling water.

The man smiled.

Alice glanced over her shoulder, but there was no-one behind her. Neither was anybody standing at the edge of the lake nearby. When she looked into the water again, it was her own perplexed face that greeted her. The man was gone.


	14. Wound

Blood held the bottle out in front of Alice so that she could read the label.

“Whisky?” she asked.

“Close,” said Blood. “Brandy.”

“What's the difference?”Alice's experiences with alcohol had been few and far between. On the rare occasions she'd drunk, it had been a glass of wine or champagne, not spirits.

“Brandy's sweeter. This one's always been a favourite of mine.” Blood sat back on the sofa opposite Alice and poured a finger of the dark liquid into one of the two crystal glasses he'd set out. “Would you like to try some?”

“I'll be fine for now, thanks.”

“Suit yourself,” said Blood.

They sat in the biggest of the mansion's three drawing rooms. Back when she'd lived here, Alice had often come to this room alone to relax when Blood was out. It had more or less the same layout and décor as his bedroom, only instead of a bookshelf, the walls were covered with mirrors and landscape paintings. The sofas they were sat on stretched in a long C shape around a rectangular glass table.

Blood leaned back against the cushions, legs crossed. He was wearing black trousers and a matching loose dress shirt, slightly open at the collar. “You look surprised.”

“I've never seen you wear all black before,” said Alice. Before she could stop herself, she added, “It looks good.”

“Good enough to earn a rare compliment from you? I must be doing something right.”

Alice glanced towards the closed door. Blood had already assured her that nobody would be bothering them, but still, she feared it would only be a matter of time until either a faceless or one of Blood's subordinates came in. She'd known the Twins burst into rooms without knocking before.

Blood swirled the brandy in his glass, then took a sip. “So, tell me. Why the Amusement Park? I'm sure my sister would have found you a room at the castle.”

Alice didn't bother to point out how his question was in bad taste, considering it was he who'd left her without a home in the first place. “Gowland was the one who found the apartment for me. One of his friends lets me stay there for free.”

“Isn't it a bit depressing for you? Being a young woman, surely you'd prefer some colour on the walls.”

“I'm just grateful for a roof,” Alice said, injecting a warning under her playful tone. “We can't all live in mansions.”

Blood chuckled softly. “Fair point.”

“Besides,” she said with a sigh, “I didn't want to go back to the castle for a while. Too many bad memories.”

“You know, it's funny you should mention that. I actually had a visit from your friend Peter White soon after the ball.”

Alice grimaced. Peter may have helped her rescue Blood, but she'd still hesitate before calling him her friend. “I take it he tried to kill you.”

“Naturally. And if Elliot hadn't been with me, I'm sure he would have succeeded.” Blood smirked into his glass. “He's vowed to come back and take my head, as he so eloquently put it. I think the Queen has had an influence on him.”

In those first few days of living alone, Peter had visited Alice, too. She'd had to fight him off outside the Amusement Park gates. The only person she missed from the castle was Vivaldi, though with her royal duties, it was almost impossible for her to take time off and venture outside of her territory. Alice had actually been planning on visiting her for a while now, as soon as she mustered the courage to return to that territory.

As she and Blood carried on with their small talk, Alice began to notice something. No matter how Blood sat on the sofa, whether he was reclining with his legs stretched out beneath the table or leaning forward over his knees, he seemed to be making an effort to keep his back straight. Had he managed to injure it somehow since their meeting in the forest?

“Could I try some?” Alice asked when he went to pour his third glass.

“Of course.”

The measure he gave Alice was a little smaller than his own. She picked it up and stared down into the dark liquid. She'd heard that spirits were harder to tolerate than normal drinks like wine or beer.

 _Well, better now than later,_ she thought, and downed the glass in one.

The moment the brandy hit the back of her throat, Alice felt like throwing up. It spread through her nose like fire, pungent and sour, with none of the sweetness Blood had promised. She bent over and coughed.

“H-how do you drink that for fun?” she spluttered.

Blood was laughing too hard to answer right away. “You're not supposed to drink all of it at once. It's an acquired taste.”

“That's putting it lightly,” Alice said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Now that the burning sensation had started to fade, she was left with an aftertaste that lingered on the roof of her mouth and made her grimace.

She noticed the slight of tightening of Blood's face muscles as he sat back down, like he was trying to stop himself from wincing.

“Besides, you hold your drink better than others I've brought back here,” he said.

“Hm? What 'others'?” said Alice, then paused as she realised what he meant. “Oh.”

The slight smirk on Blood's face told her she'd given him the reaction he'd wanted. “Is that jealousy I sense, young lady?”

When they'd been living together, it had often passed Alice's mind that Blood had had former lovers. After all, he was older than her, and his skills at seducing her made it obvious he had experience in that department. It had never bothered her before. So why did she feel a hint of envy now?

“Fine,” she said, deciding to play him at his own game. “How many?”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard correctly.” The corner of Alice's lips turned up. “If you want to boast about all the women you've bedded, you can go ahead and tell me the details, starting with how many.”

Blood tutted, though his eyes sparkled with humour. “Enough to know that relationships are more hassle than they're worth.”

“Finally, something we agree on.”

“I must admit, though, it is refreshing not to be constantly compared to your ex-lover.”

Alice had given up that comparison long ago. Aside from their faces, there was nothing in Blood anymore that tied him to her old tutor. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she'd thought of him on her own.

Blood smiled as he told her this. “Thank goodness for that. I always felt like I was competing with a version of myself I'd never even met.”

“I never wanted you to feel like that.” Alice suddenly realised that she'd never had a proper conversation with Blood about her old tutor, or her life before this world in general. Blood had always become tense when she'd brought up the subject. Not that she blamed him. It couldn't have been pleasant to be compared over and over to another man, something Alice had done a lot when she'd first arrived here.

Now, though, he looked at her with a patient expression, as if waiting for her to carry on. Alice shrugged. “We weren't in a proper relationship or anything. He tutored me after school some days and I developed a liking for him.” Most of what she remembered of him was vague, but she'd never forget the way he would touch her wrist as she was writing, or gently praise her when she did well. Such memories remained locked inside her, so deep that not even the time spent in this world could erase them.

“And then he cheated on you,” said Blood smugly.

“I wouldn't say 'cheated'. He just... fell in love with someone else. Or maybe he never loved me in the first place.” Alice crossed her arms and stared down at her lap. “But it doesn't matter. I never lived with him. We never even shared the same bed.”

“Oh? Now that _is_ news to me.”

“Really?” Alice looked up again. Surely Blood was able to tell he'd been her first proper lover.

“I had an inkling, but never thought to ask. Call me a gentleman.” Blood spread his hands wide. “So, you never had a proper relationship with this man, you never slept together, and yet still you let him break your heart.”

“Just because you're not sleeping with someone doesn't mean you can't have feelings for them,” Alice snapped. “Besides, we were intimate in other ways.”

“What other ways?”

Alice smiled. “Now look who's getting jealous.”

“Hm.” Blood finished his drink and placed the glass down on the table. For a moment, Alice thought she'd genuinely made him angry. Then he turned his dark eyes on her and said, “Who was better?”

Alice was so shocked at his cheek she grabbed the nearest cushion and threw it at him.

“How very unladylike,” he laughed, batting the cushion aside before it could hit him in the face.

“I thought you hated when I compared you two,” Alice snapped.

“Call it curiosity.” Blood grinned, and it was then that she noticed the slight flush to his cheeks, most likely a result of the three glasses of alcohol he'd drunk.

She ran her eyes over his body, pausing at the section of chest that peeked through his open collar. Despite the subject of their conversation, she was still here as a friend, just as they'd agreed in the forest. Blood wasn't expecting anything from her. But even as she repeated those thoughts in her head, she found her gaze drawn to his lips.

“Perhaps,” she said slowly, “you should come over and refresh my memory.”

Blood raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” Pushing off the sofa, he walked around the edge of the table and bent over her. He tilted her chin up, giving Alice a second to savour their closeness before he kissed her.

“Did that suffice?” he whispered. “Or would you like me to do it again?”

“I don't know,” said Alice a little breathlessly. “My memory is still hazy.”

The man clicked his tongue in mock annoyance. “Fine.”

When he kissed her again, his lips lingered on hers for longer. Alice could taste the brandy on his mouth.

“Do you have your answer?” he asked.

Alice could have told him that his kisses made her feel weightless, that the rush of danger and excitement she got when he came close was like nothing her tutor had ever given her, but where would be the fun in that?

Seeing he wasn't going to get his answer after all, Blood sighed in defeat and sat down next to her, breath hitching in his throat at his unknown injury. He snatched the brandy from the table, but instead of pouring himself another glass, took a swig directly from the bottle.

“I don't think of my tutor like that anymore,” said Alice, putting the discussion to rest.

Blood glanced at her with a smug expression. “I know.”

After he'd taken another drink, Alice reached for the bottle in his hands. He held it back. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

The second sip didn't hurt as much as the first one, probably because this time, she was expecting it. The taste only made her gag instead of launching her into a full-blown coughing fit. Blood raised an eyebrow as she handed it back, seemingly impressed.

She exhaled loudly and rested her head on his shoulder. Blood wrapped his arm around her neck and squeezed her gently to him, and for a moment, Alice remembered what it was like to feel safe, protected and in love.

*

By the time night had turned to evening and back to night again, Alice's head was spinning with the warm, giddy feeling that came with being tipsy. Blood, on the other hand, could barely walk in a straight line.

“Slowly, now,” she muttered as she half-supported, half-dragged him up the stairs. His arm was draped across her shoulder, his weight bearing down on her as she walked.

“I can do it myself,” he said in the voice of a stubborn toddler.

“You've already tripped once,” Alice retorted, remembering the sight of him toppling over in the drawing room doorway. Naturally, she'd had to pick him back up.

“Mm, you're right.” He sighed. “What a mess I am.”

His free hand found Alice's arse and squeezed it through her skirt. She stamped her heel down on his foot, almost knocking them both off balance.

“For goodness' sake, Blood, at least wait until we're in your room—”

As they reached the top of the stairs, Alice paused to look around. They were alone. She'd been wary to keep her voice low to prevent anyone from knowing she was there, and so far, luck had been on her side.

It was a short walk to Blood's bedroom. Alice set off quickly, knowing that every second they spent in the corridors was another second they risked being seen.

They were almost there when Blood pulled off Alice, placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her against the wall. His lips assaulted hers, his knee pinned between her thighs to prevent her from getting away.

“We'll be seen,” she whispered the moment her lips were free.

“I don't care,” Blood muttered, kissing her again.

Perhaps it was because of the alcohol, or maybe it was because she'd missed this more than she realised, but in that moment, Alice allowed herself to forget about the danger they were in and lost herself in the embrace. She ran her hands along his shoulders, her fingers tracing the sharp curves of his collarbone through his shirt.

The sound of a door closing nearby made Alice freeze. With wide eyes, she stared down the corridor in the direction it had come from. She couldn't see anyone, but knew it was just a matter of seconds before someone came into view.

“Blood,” she hissed and shoved him back. Ignoring his hurt look, she grabbed him by the wrist and hauled him the last few steps to his room. Then she threw open the door, shoved him inside and slammed it closed behind her.

The moment they were alone and Alice got her first glimpse of Blood's room, her heart lurched with nostalgia. The last time she'd been here, she and Blood had still been lovers. Nothing had changed, from the bookshelf that spanned the entire left wall and the desk sitting before the window, to the four-poster bed with magenta sheets that the two of them used to share.

“Careful,” she said, carrying him over and dumping him into the mattress. He rolled onto his back and rubbed his eyes.

Sitting down next to him, Alice scowled. “If' I'd known you were going to get this drunk, I never would have come over.”

But even as she said the words out loud, she knew in her heart they weren't true. Blood was irritating in this state, but endearing. And at least he wasn't trying to push her into the wall anymore. She reached out a hand and brushed the hair from his forehead. Then she crawled over to his feet and started to unlace his shoes.

“You know, this would be the perfect time to kill me.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Alice.

“I'm just pointing it out. I can barely stand, let alone defend myself.” Blood's voice was little more than a sleepy mumble. “You probably hate me after what I did to you.”

She pulled off his second shoe and placed it on the floor beside the first. “You're in no condition to have this conversation.”

“Just as I thought.

Alice looked up to see Blood staring at her from underneath his arm. For some reason, she felt the weight of his gaze more keenly than usual.

“I don't hate you, Blood,” she said, moving up the bed to kneel beside his chest.

“After the meeting with Gowland, when you pulled your gun out on me, a small part of me wished you'd shoot. I wanted you to punish me for what I'd done.”

The weight in his voice made Alice think that what he was saying was the truth instead of just a drunken ramble. She remembered holding the gun against Blood's neck, the passing thought that she could make him pay for hurting her, despite knowing that she wouldn't pull the trigger.

“We both made mistakes,” she said, “but I don't think lingering in the past is going to help things.”

 _Especially,_ she wanted to add, _with the state you're in now. Or both of us, for that matter._

She was about to help Blood with his shirt, when he caught her hand and held it, long fingers encasing hers. Staring up at the ceiling, he said, almost as if it were an afterthought, “Letting you go was the worst mistake I ever made.”

The confession was so simple, so earnest, that Alice felt a lump in the back of her throat, as if she were about to cry.

 _He's overly-emotional,_ she told herself. _He doesn't mean it._

And yet, Alice found herself thinking back to the conversation they'd had in the forest. Blood had admitted his leaving her was a choice made in anger. Hadn't he also mentioned something about feeling weak because he'd had feelings for her?

He squeezed her hand tenderly, and suddenly it all fell into place. Blood Dupre, a man who was used to getting everything in life his way, whose emotions he'd kept locked deep inside himself, had fallen in love. The feeling was so new to him, that of course he'd confuse it for weakness. Or maybe there was another person in his past, someone he'd loved and lost, who'd made him reluctant to fall in love again, just like her tutor had done to her.

So, after their breakup, Blood had pushed his emotions aside, built a wall between himself and the world. It had probably even worked for a little while, until the doubt set in. Alice knew that feeling all too well: pretending to the world that everything was all right, while dying on the inside. At least she'd had Boris and Julius to talk to. From what Elliot had told her. Blood had kept everything to himself. Perhaps that was the reason he'd drunk so much tonight – it was the only way he'd open up to her about his emotions and relieve the pressure that had clearly been growing inside him all this time.

Blood's eyes were slowly closing. Alice pulled her hand from his and, one by one, undid the buttons on his shirt. Once it was open, she touched the back of his neck. “I need you to sit up.”

He obeyed, allowing Alice to slip the shirt over his arms. As she did so, her eyes fell on a ragged pink line that grazed the top of his shoulder.

“Is this from a gunshot?” She ran her finger over it, pulling back when Blood jumped in pain.

“You should see the one on the other side,” he said, shrugging off his shirt completely and raising his arm. Alice leaned over to see a deep, raw wound running along his side. Someone, most likely Elliot, had carefully stitched it up with black cord.

Alice stared at it in horror. “Who did this to you?”

“A group of faceless caught me in an ambush. You should know by now how things work around here.” Blood leaned back on the bed and shrugged. “It's nothing to worry about. Both are healing fine.”

Alice remembered how quickly her own gunshot wound had healed here in comparison to her own world, though it still didn't stop her from feeling a sudden rush of protectiveness over Blood. “Did you... kill them?”

“Oh, yes.” His smile was a little too enthusiastic, considering the subject.

Since she'd left her night clothes at the apartment, Alice decided to sleep in her dress rather than strip down. She lay back against the pillow. The bed creaked as Blood rolled onto his side and wrapped an arm around her chest, though she noticed he still left her enough room to pull away should she want to.

If there was one thing she'd learned tonight, it was that she and Blood might display themselves differently to the world, but beneath it all, they shared the same broken heart. Perhaps that was the reason why Alice kept on coming back to him, and why, deep down, she hated him for being the only person in the world who could make her feel this way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay in posting this! Up until now, I'd tried to avoid the subject of talking about Alice's ex, as I felt every reader already knew about it and including it in the story would bog things down. However, it made sense to include it in this chapter. For Alice, her ex represents the loss of a first love and her fear of rejection, and while that will always remain a part of who she is, falling in love with Blood helped her to move on - at least in my timeline lol. I know she lingers on it more in the games and certain manga.
> 
> Feedback is welcome, as always! :)


	15. Problem

When she woke up, it took Alice a few seconds to remember where she was.

She stared out at Blood's bedroom with heavy eyes. Her head ached, no doubt a direct result of the brandy she'd downed last night, though the pain wasn't as strong as she'd feared. She rolled over, expecting to see Blood lying beside her, but to her surprise, he was gone.

She sat up and looked around the room. He wasn't there. His side of the bed was cold, too. Alice placed a hand against her aching forehead and winced. She needed water or tea, or any drink, for that matter. Her brain felt like it was pulling away from her skull.

With perfect timing, the door opened and in walked Blood with a tray. He raised an eyebrow as he saw her.

“I thought I'd surprise you while you were sleeping,” he said, disappointment in his voice.

“This is still a surprise.” She moved back to make room for the tray. On it sat a pot of tea, two cups and a covered plate. “What's that?” She pointed to the plate.

Blood sat down on the other side. He'd put on a loose white shirt to go downstairs. “This?” He lifted the cover, revealing a perfect folded omelette.

“Did you make this?” Alice asked.

“Of course.”

In all the time she'd known him, Alice had never seen Blood cook. She smiled, touched at the gesture.

“This is actually quite good,” she said around a mouthful. “Are you not going to have any?”

“I'll be fine with tea.” Blood crossed his legs and held his cup in both hands, allowing the aroma to waft up to his face between sips.

Once they were finished with breakfast, Blood cleared the tray away and Alice glanced towards the window. It was evening again. With no way to tell the time, she wasn't sure whether they'd slept for four hours or ten.

Blood sighed softly and lay back against his arms. The simple gesture reminded Alice of Boris relaxing at the side of the lake last time they'd sparred.

“Do you have a headache?” she asked, noticing the way he strewed up his face slightly each time he shifted to find a more comfortable position. Luckily, hers had faded to a dull throb now that she eaten and drunk something.

“It's my side,” he said. “I'll be fine.”

“Can I take another look at it?”

The corner of Blood's lips turned up. “If I didn't know better, I'd think you'd taken a liking to undressing me.”

“You're hurt, Blood,” she said with a withering sigh. She may not have been a medical expert, but she knew wounds deep enough to need stitches had a tendency to tear open and bleed if not properly looked after.

She stripped him to the waist and looked over his side again. To her surprise, the wound looked significantly less raw around the edges, as if several days' worth of healing had taken place overnight.

“Does it look okay, or do we have to amputate the area below the arms?”

Alice jabbed Blood in the ribs with her finger, making him recoil. “How can you joke about this? If the bullet had hit you two inches to the left, you would have died.” Above all, she was grateful he'd survived the attack. She'd been too tired and tipsy to appreciate the seriousness of the situation last night.

“It's a good thing the faceless can't aim, then.” Blood suddenly grabbed her by the wrist. His eyelids dropped, and he fell back onto the bed, dragging her down with him.

“Are you all right?” she exclaimed.

“I felt faint,” said Blood, grinning. Alice rolled her eyes. He was just messing around.

Before she could protest, he pulled her arm up, drawing her face close enough to his that he could catch her lips. He let go of her wrist and hooked his arm around her shoulder, pressing her to his chest.

“I'm feeling a little shy, being the only one undressed,” he whispered in her ear. “Perhaps you should take off some clothes to make me feel better.”

Alice scoffed at the thought of Blood proclaiming himself anything close to shy. Regardless, she granted his request, kneeling back on the bed and removing her clothes until she was down to her underwear. Blood watched her with avid eyes. Despite the many times they'd been naked around one another in the past, Alice still felt a hint of embarrassment as she lay down next to him.

“Much better,” said Blood, and pushed her onto her back.

Her whole body tingled as he claimed her mouth again, their lips moving in slow, hungry unison. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, enjoying the warmth that radiated from his bare skin. Blood's hand trailed down her body. His fingers caressed her collar, her breast, her hip, before he slipped them into her underwear.

“I see your wound miraculously healed,” she teased once she was free.

Blood smirked. “Just one of the many surprises I have for you.”

His middle finger found her clit and brushed over it, making her breath catch in her throat. He propped himself up on his arm beside her, their faces just inches away. Alice lifted her head to kiss him again, but he pulled back.

“Uh uh, you're going to have to earn it.” His voice was deep, teasing, and made Alice want him more than anything else in the world, but she decided to play his game, if only for a little while.

“How do I earn it?” she asked.

“I haven't decided yet.” Blood's finger circled her clit slowly, adding just enough pressure to send waves of lust pulsing through her. She rubbed her thighs together in an attempt to satiate the growing need there.

“Perhaps,” he said, “I should make you tell me exactly what it is you want me to do. Then I'll decide whether or not to oblige.”

 _I want you to make me yours again. I want you to pin me down and bruise me and make me moan your name so hard it's the only thing I can think of._ But of course, Alice couldn't say any of that out loud. Just the fact she was having such obscene thoughts was enough to turn her cheeks scarlet.

But deep down, she wanted Blood to be rough with her. She thought back to after the meeting, when Blood had slammed her down on the table and made love to her. She needed that again now.

“I want you to take me,” she whispered.

“Not good enough,” Blood chuckled. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

Alice gasped and bucked her hips as he slipped a finger inside her, his thumb taking over the job of teasing her clit. She couldn't take it anymore. She tried to pull him down, but he resisted again.

“You have no patience today, my dear.” Blood's voice was husky, heavy with wanting. Alice wondered if he was having as hard a time holding back as she was.

Knowing she would never win at this game unless he let her, Alice tried something else. She slipped her hand into his waistband and grabbed hold of his erection.

He froze. Alice used the moment of surprise to place her free hand on his shoulder and push him back onto the bed. She sat on his hips and smiled down triumphantly.

“How about I show you instead?”

Blood sighed, as if accepting his defeat. He was stronger than her and could have easily pulled her down again if he'd wanted to. “I'll allow it.”

He placed his hands on the tops of her thighs as Alice finally removed her bra. Then she moved off him, slid off her underwear and undid the button on Blood's trousers. He helped her pull them down.

She'd hoped to taunt him a little as payback, but seeing him completely naked, she knew she couldn't willingly deny herself any longer. She took his cock in her hand, positioned it at her entrance and slowly lowered herself onto him.

She was wet enough that he was able to slide into her with little resistance, but Alice still hesitated, her breath hitching as she got used to the feeling of fullness that came with him being sheathed inside her completely. Blood looked up at her with expectant eyes.

Placing her hands on his chest to brace herself, Alice began with long, slow movements, rocking her whole body back and forth to match the movement of her hips. Blood held her waist with one hand, the other gripping her hip, guiding her gyrations. His lips parted slightly and he grunted.

Alice made a sound halfway between a gasp and a laugh. “What's wrong? Does the great Blood Dupre not like being teased?”

With a sudden roll of his hips, Blood thrusted up into her so hard it made her cry out. He caught her wrists in his hands and pulled her close. “Apologise for that remark, young lady.” His tone was dangerous, but Alice could see the sparkle in his eyes that proved he was only playing.

“No,” she said, smiling.

“Stubborn woman,” Blood mumbled. Transferring her wrists to one of his hands, he used the other to push himself into a sitting position. Then he draped her arms over his shoulders, grabbed hold of her waist and pulled her firmly into his lap.

Alice could do nothing but hold on as Blood began to thrust into her. She gasped again, louder this time, her fingers tangling in his hair, legs wrapped around his waist. Blood crushed her to his chest in his arms. His lips found her neck and latched on. Alice knew he wouldn't leave marks, not when the two of them were trying hard to keep this a secret.

And what a secret it was. Clutched in Blood's arms, Alice was able to forget all her anger, her fears, her doubt towards him. She no longer cared that they'd hurt one another. All that mattered was this moment. It was as if the two of them had never been apart.

 _Letting you go was the worst mistake I ever made._ It was just a simple, drunken confession, but the memory of his words from last night repeated itself in Alice's head and made her heart somersault. She'd been going to ask him about what he'd said, whether he'd meant it or not, but something told her to leave it as it was, at least for now. What was the use in spoiling a perfect moment with words? Let the two of them enjoy each other's companies while they could. There would be plenty of time for talking later.

Gripping him with her legs, he thrust against him until she found a rhythm that matched his. Blood moaned into her shoulder. The sound sent shivers down Alice's back. Every thrust rocked her to her core. Paired with the grinding of her clit against his skin, the feeling was almost too much. She threw her head back as she felt the tightening in the base of her stomach that hinted her climax was imminent.

“Blood, I'm—”

Her words melted into a groan as Blood caught her lips and thrust his tongue into her mouth. It was the final push she needed. Like a dam breaking, all the pressure that had built up inside her overflowed. She moaned into his mouth as her orgasm pulsed through her body, her fingernails digging into his shoulders, clinging to him for fear she would drift away if she didn't anchor herself.

Once her body relaxed again, she noticed Blood had fallen completely still. For a moment, she thought he'd climaxed at the same time as her. Then she heard the sound that had made him freeze.

“Blood, are you okay in there?” Elliot's voice came from the other side of the door.

Blood managed to keep his voice impressively calm as he replied: “I'm fine. What's wrong?”

“We have a problem.”

Alice and Blood exchanged concerned glances. Then he patted her leg, indicating for her to get off. She slipped under the bed while Blood snatched up her clothes and hid them amongst the covers.

“Come in.”

Alice watched from beneath the bed as the door opened and the hare walked in. “Sorry to burst in like this.”

“It's okay, Elliot. Just tell me what's going on?”

“It's... uh.” Elliot paused. “Are those Alice's shoes?”

Alice could practically feel Blood stiffen above her. In his haste to hide her clothing, he'd missed her shoes, sat at the base of the bed.

Knowing there was no use hiding anymore, Alice held the corner of the overhanging sheet over her chest and lifted her head above the mattress. Elliot's eyes widened, though he looked more confused than shocked. “Oh. Hi, Alice.”

“Elliot,” Blood snapped, bringing his attention back to him. “What's happened?”

“Right. It's the Clock Tower. Someone's set it on fire.”

Blood opened his mouth, then closed it again. His cheeks turned pale. He looked at Alice, but she could only think about one thing.

_Julius._


	16. Fire

Alice smelled the smoke before she saw it. By the time she arrived at the Clock Tower, it seemed the whole of Wonderland was on fire.

A pillar of smoke rose from the tower, billowing out of the windows into the evening sky. For a horrifying moment, Alice thought that the whole building had been burned, but then she counted the windows and saw that it was only the floor where Julius lived and worked.

 _What do I mean, 'only'?_ she thought frantically. That floor made up the vast proportion of the tower's entire living space. All of Julius's possessions, his furniture, his clocks, were there. She prayed that as many of them as possible had been saved.

Far more importantly, had Julius managed to get out in time?

The courtyard was filled with role-holders and faceless alike, the latter of whom had presumably made their way here from the town that surrounded the tower. Alice ran through the crowd, dodging bodies and scanning faces, searching for a long black coat or blue-tinted hair. She spotted Peter a distance away, surrounded by a trio of castle guards. He tried to catch her attention, but she ignored him.

She found Julius eventually, sat on a large rock at the edge of the courtyard. He looked like a statue, hands folded neatly on his legs, eyes fixed at a point on the ground ahead. Boris and Gowland stood either side of him. Boris had a hand on his back and was lightly rubbing the area between his shoulder blades. He looked up as Alice approached.

“Julius.” Her lungs ached with each breath, but she didn't care. All that mattered was that her friend was safe. She knelt down in front of him and placed a hand on his arm. He didn't move. “Is he hurt?”

“He's fine, just in shock,” said Boris coldly.

Alice moved closer to Julius and said his name again. Finally, he blinked and looked up at her, as if only just noticing she was there. “Alice?”

Relief rose amid her fear. “It's okay. You don't have to talk.” She'd never seen Julius like this before.

“They took the clocks,” he whispered.

“What?” A shiver spread down Alice's spine. “Who did?”

But Julius didn't get a chance to answer, as at that moment, a pair of faceless in ash-stained overalls ran up to them, panting.

“Mr Gowland, Mr Airay, we've managed to put out the fire, but I'm afraid there's no saving what's inside,” said one of them.

Alice looked to the entrance of the Clock Tower, where a stream of faceless, dirty like the ones in front of her, filed out of the door, clutching buckets which she presumed had been filled with water.

“Thank you,” said Gowland. “That'll be all.”

The faceless who had spoken gave Julius a pitying glance before tapping his partner on the arm and walking away.

A sudden shout drew Alice's attention back to the tower. The crowd parted around Peter, who raised his gun in a flash of light. Screams rose up from the faceless as he fired it at a figure in white who was making his way towards them.

“Someone tell that idiot this is neutral territory,” Boris growled, although it seemed like the guards were already trying to subdue Peter. He shook them off and aimed his gun again.

“I promised I'd kill you if I saw you again, Hatter,” he shrieked.

Blood looked around just as Peter pulled the trigger again. The bullet flew past him and hit a woman in the chest. She fell into the arms of the person next to her, who screamed. Alice had to resist the urge to run over.

“Knock it off, Peter!” she shouted.

The white rabbit paused as he laid eyes on her. His mouth opened, then closed, reminding Alice of a fish. Then he lowered his gun.

Blood's face was stony as he approached. With his hat on his head, he was as tall as Elliot, who followed behind him. Several faceless backed out of his path.

Alice and Blood had decided, as she'd quickly gotten dressed, that he would leave the mansion ten minutes after her and take a different route to make it look as though they'd come from separate directions. Now, as he glared at her with ice in his eyes, she had to remind herself that it was all an act. After all, to the rest of the world, they were enemies.

“What happened?” asked Blood, his shadow falling over Julius.

“It's all under control,” snapped Boris. “We don't need you putting your nose in things.”

“Hm.” Blood ran his fingers around the brim of his hat. “Well, if you insist, then I leave it up to you, though I, for one, have no confidence in the abilities of a cat and a mad old man to keep things 'under control' for long.”

“Just get out of here, Blood,” said Alice, trying to inject as much venom into her voice as she could.

The look the Hatter gave her was so contemptuous, she found it hard to believe that less than an hour ago, they'd been sharing the same bed. He chuckled humourlessly. “Good to see you again, Alice.”

Then, motioning at Elliot to follow, he spun and left.

Once the pair of them had disappeared, Alice turned to Julius again. He'd taken to staring at his spot on the floor again, eyes wide and unblinking.

“Let's get him out of here,” said mumbled.

Boris nodded. “I couldn't agree more.”

*

It was a long, slow walk back to the Amusement Park. Boris and Gowland walked in front while Alice led Julius by the arm. He remained silent, except for his occasional mutters that he was fine and for them to stop fussing over him, though there was little conviction in his tone.

When they finally reached Gowland's house, he unlocked the door and ushered them all in. Alice was greeted by the gaudy turquoise and amber that covered the interior walls. She guided Julius straight through to the bedroom and helped him down. His eyes still held the glassy look that had possessed them since the Clock Tower.

“Will he be okay here?” she asked. He was in enemy territory, after all.

“As long as he's not here in his official capacity as the Watchmaker, it's allowed,” said Boris.

A grim thought hit Alice. If all Julius's clocks had been lost in the fire, he would be forced to give up his role while he was here, whether by choice or not.

She desperately wanted to ask him about what had happened at the tower, but looking at him, it was obvious he was in no state to answer questions now. She glanced at Gowland and Boris, hoping they picked up on her wish to spend a few minutes alone with Julius. Luckily, they quickly left the room.

“Come on, you need to rest.”

Alice helped Julius out of his coat, waistcoat and boots, laying each item of clothing over a chair at the foot of the bed. She'd expected him to protest at her helping him, but he remained completely silent, as if his mind had long left his body. Alice remembered Boris mentioning that he was in shock. She'd never seen it up close like this.

Stripped down to his trousers and shirt, Julius lay back against the bed. Alice didn't fancy hauling the covers from beneath his, so she searched the room until she found a blanket on a shelf in Gowland's wardrobe. It was soft, but not too heavy, and decorated with musical staves.

Back when she'd been living at the Clock Tower, she'd sometimes had to help Julius up to bed after he'd collapsed at his desk, his stubbornness meaning he would rather work himself to exhaustion rather than voluntarily take a rest. Pulling the blanket up to his shoulders now, she found herself thinking back to those days. This man had been her rock ever since coming to Wonderland. Despite his demanding role, he'd always taken the time to care for her, listen to her problems and offer her what advice he could. He'd even held a gun up to his best friend, risking his life to save hers. Alice owed him more than she could pay back in a lifetime. Seeing him like this hurt her more deeply than anything physical could.

“Try and get some sleep,” she said, kneeling on the floor beside him.

“How?” Julius's voice was little more than a whisper. “It's all gone.”

“But _you_ got out in time. That's what matters most. Everything else can be replaced.”

Julius shook his head slowly. “Not everything.”

Once again, Alice remembered the clocks that had been lost. _Not lost. Taken,_ she thought. Who else in this world could possibly have use for clocks, though? It wasn't as if anyone else knew how to fix them, and breaking them surely resulted in a one-way ticket to wherever Ace was right now.

 _You can't hold onto clocks, Alice._ Julius had told her that last time she'd seen him. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something about that memory made her feel sick to her stomach.

Before she could let herself dwell on it, however, someone knocked on the door behind her. She turned to see Boris standing in the doorway. All the usual cheer had been sucked from his face, leaving him looking as cold as Blood in the courtyard.

“Alice,” he said, “can I talk to you outside for a minute?”


	17. Sketch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Running through the notes I have for the ending of this story, it's become obvious to me that this isn't going to have a quick wrap-up. I'm pleased with the pace I have so far and wouldn't want to rush the ending, so I'm estimating this will end up reaching 30 chapters. On the plus side, I finally have the rest of the story outlined (I always dive in with a rough plan of how things will go at the beginning lol), and I am SO excited to share it!
> 
> Thank you to all readers so far ♥

Boris led Alice out of the back door into the garden behind the house. It was small but quaint, typical of the cottages back in her old world, with a bird bath as its centrepiece and vegetable patches arranged in neat squares. Alice thought they were going to go and sit on the bench in the back corner, but the moment the door closed, Boris rounded on her.

“So, when were you going to tell me?”

Alice flinched for a moment. Had he somehow managed to find out about her and Blood? They'd both arrived at the Clock Tower at different times. Unless Boris had watched her leave the mansion, there was no way he could know.

Unless... Her blood ran cold as she remembered telling him that she'd be visiting Julius as a cover up for her sneaking off to the mansion.

Deciding to play dumb, she frowned and said, “What are you talking about?”

Sure enough, Boris snapped, “You were with Blood, weren't you?”

“No, I left the Clock Tower before the fire.”

“Julius said you hadn't come to visit at all.” He bared his teeth, his voice dropping in volume but somehow becoming more dangerous. “Stop lying, Alice. Tell me the truth, for once.”

Alice was sure if she tried hard enough, she'd be able to spin enough lies to wiggle her way out of this, but her face had already betrayed her. She clenched her jaw and mumbled, “Why do you care where I was, anyway?”

The sound Boris made was halfway between a growl and a sigh. “How far did you go? Did you tell him you loved him?”

“Does it matter?” she shouted.

“Yes, because he's just going to hurt you again.” Boris pressed a hand to his forehead, like the revelation was causing him physical pain. “After what he did to you, _I_ was the one who picked you up, and for what? So you could lie to me and run back into his arms?”

“He wasn't the only one who made mistakes. I hurt him, too.”

Boris snorted. “I can't believe this. Now you're _defending_ him?”

Despite Alice's best efforts, there was no keeping back the tears that pooled in her eyes. She wasn't sad, though. These were tears of rage. She'd never seen Boris this angry before at anyone. Not that she was about to let him talk down to her like this. “You're treating me like a child.”

“Because you're making a bad decision. Why can't you see that?”

Boris seized her by the shoulders, and Alice saw red. She brought her hand across his face so hard it made her fingers sting. He stared at her for a moment, eyes widening as his cheek turned red.

Alice froze. Her slap had been a reaction to his grabbing her shoulders, but she still felt a stab of guilt at having laid her hand on him. She pulled away sharply.

Turning his head, Boris said slowly, “I see it now. All along, I wasn't your friend. I was just a tool you used to make yourself feel better. Well, don't come running to me when that man tears your heart to pieces again. I won't be waiting for you.”

The venom in his words struck at Alice like a bullet to her heart. She spun, ran back through the house and left through the front door, trying to hold back another round of tears.

“Leave him a while.”

The sudden voice made Alice jump. She paused in her steps to see Gowland sat outside his front door, legs folded, a smoking pipe in his hands.

“You heard that?” she muttered.

“I did.” Gowland blew out a plume of smoke. “He'll be fine in a few time periods.”

It was hard to tell from his cool tone whether he was annoyed or not, so she simply nodded. “Thanks.”

His tilted his chin up sharply by way of reply.

As she walked out into the Amusement Park and crossed to the exit turnstiles, Alice briefly considered heading back to the Hatter Mansion, though she shut down the idea as soon as it came to her. She didn't want to be with anyone, even Blood, at the moment. All she wanted was to be alone.

*

Just like Gowland had advised, Alice waited for several time periods to pass before returning to the Amusement Park. She'd headed straight back to her apartment after the argument and stayed there, only leaving once to take a quick walk. Her head felt clearer after the time alone, though she still hoped she wouldn't run into Boris for the time being.

She held her breath as she knocked on Gowland's front door. Footsteps sounded from inside. Then the handle turned.

The person who answered was not who she'd expected. Julius stared down at her, his face as impassive as usual.

“Oh. Is Gowland home?” she asked.

“He's out. Would you like to come in?”

Alice entered the living room and sat down on the sofa. A quick glance around the room told her that they were indeed alone. Something on the coffee table caught her eye. It was a pad, open on a pencil drawing of a flowerpot.

She pointed at it and asked, “Did you draw this?”

Julius froze. “I...” His cheeks were turning pink. “It's not like there's anything else to do around here.”

He crossed his arms and sighed, and in that moment, Alice felt deeply sorry for him once again. It was hard enough for her to process that the Clock Tower, her first ever home in Wonderland and a place she held deeply in her heart, was gone. She could only imagine how Julius felt.

Picking up the pad, she paused and asked, “May I?”

Julius shrugged.

She flicked through the pages slowly. About half of them were filled with sketches of things around the house – books, fruit, bottles. They were all clearly the work of an amateur, but Alice was pleasantly surprised the Watchmaker had chosen to fill his time with a hobby instead of brooding as she'd feared he would.

“These aren't bad,” she said with a smile.

“Thanks.” Julius sat down on the sofa beside her and rubbed his eyes. He looked like he hadn't slept for days (not that that was anything new). He was dressed in a brown waistcoat and black shirt that Alice assumed belonged to Gowland, and his hair hung loose by his side now that it wasn't confined to its usual ponytail.

“How are you feeling now?” she asked.

“I'll be fine.”

Alice sighed. Perhaps it was cruel to bring up the subject of the fire so soon, but she'd been burning with questions ever since.

 _The moment he seems uncomfortable with talking, I'll stop,_ she promised herself. It wasn't fair to push him, but she had to at least try to find out what had happened.

“Julius, back when I first saw you in the courtyard, you said that 'they' had taken your clocks. Who were you talking about?”

The man stiffened, then mumbled, “You know who I meant.”

A familiar chill trickled down Alice's spine. “Afterimages.”

“Yes.” He stared down at his hands, folded in his lap. “I've never had a problem with them before. They always just brought me clocks and left. But this time, four of them came right up to my work space. For a long time, they just floated there and stared. Then one of them lunged for me.” He touched his throat. “I remember you saying how cold the afterimage felt when it grabbed you by the wrist that time.”

 _Like dipping my hand in icy water,_ Alice had thought at the time.

“There were two faceless with them. They were dressed all in black with hoods, so I didn't manage to catch anything to identify them by. I realised they were trying to take me with them. The screwdriver was in my hand and I just...” Julius squeezed the skin at the base of his throat between his thumb and forefinger, as if the scene were repeating itself in his head.

Out of all the people Alice knew in this world, Julius was the least violent. Aside from the time he'd stepped between her and Ace to protect her, she'd never seen him raise a hand or his gun to anyone.

“It's okay,” she said soothingly. “You did what you could to protect yourself.”

Julius pulled his hand away with a grimace. “It doesn't change anything in the end. The clocks are gone. The tower is destroyed. I managed to escape just before they set everything on fire. Who knows what will happen now.” He added in a mutter, “This isn't the way things are meant to be.”

“Is there anything you can do?” asked Alice.

“Aside from tracking down the ones who took the clocks?” He shook his head. “It's hopeless. Best to just leave things as they are. This world has its own way of dealing with people who break the rules. I just hope something's done before it's too late.”

He turned his head to the side, signalling the end of the conversation. Alice had to resist the urge to press him more, remembering her promise to stop the moment he seemed unwilling to carry on. She'd gotten what she'd come here for: Julius was safe and she'd found out how the fire had started, even if it made no sense to her. Above all, she felt relieved that her friend was up and talking again.

“By the way, give the Hatter my regards,” he said.

“What?” Alice looked up. “Oh. The argument.” She shifted on the sofa, a little embarrassed that she and Boris had been overheard.

She raised her defences in preparation for the scolding that was to come, but Julius just nodded. “I'm not going to judge you. Your decisions are your own, and I trust you have good reasons for making them. Just... stay safe.”

“I will.” After her argument with Boris, it was refreshing to hear a voice that didn't completely damn her decision to go back to Blood. “Thank you, Julius.”

He grunted softly. “I've never liked Blood Dupre. When you first started visiting the mansion more frequently, I grew worried for your wellbeing. But then you moved to live in his territory, and I saw how happy you were.”

“Well... thanks.” Alice blinked. “That was unexpected.”

“Was it?”

“Mm. I just wish Boris would think the same way.” She paused. “Has he been back since I left?”

“Not that I know of.”

A part of Alice was disappointed he hadn't at least come to find her. He must still be extremely angry.

“Wait,” said Julius as she stood up. “Let me walk you home.”

Alice glanced at the window. It was still evening. “I'm fine. I came here by myself, and it's only a twenty minute walk.”

“I know. I just don't want you out on your own with everything that's been going on.”

She smiled. “That'd be nice.”

On the surface, Julius walking her back was a sweet gesture, but it made her wonder just how wary he was. Wonderland had always been a dangerous place, what with its constant territory clashes and open gunfights. But now that afterimages and faceless were turning against role-holders, it seemed like the world was changing in ways she'd never known before. Julius was terrified. She could sense things falling apart at the seams, the cogs beneath the earth grinding to a halt. Just how long could this go on before it became irreversible?


	18. Knife

“Check.”

Alice looked down in disbelief at the chess board. “Already?”

“You weren't concentrating.” A wry smile lifted the corner of Blood's lips. “Was there something on your mind?”

Alice thought for a moment before moving her king out of danger. “Of course not,” she replied coolly.

“You keep on glancing out of the window.”

Now that he mentioned it, Alice realised she had been looking at the window a lot. The sun was high in the sky and a light, summery breeze drifted in through the vent, bringing back memories of tea parties and board games in the garden.

“I was thinking it might be nice to go outside.” She sighed. “It's okay. I don't want people to see I'm here.”

“I have an inkling that after this morning, everyone already knows.” Blood shot her a teasing smile.

It took Alice a moment to realise what he was talking about. “Blood!” She had to resist the urge to lean over the board and dig her elbow into his shoulder.

“It's far too easy to wind you up,” he said with a laugh. “Not that I'm complaining. You look even sweeter when your cheeks are red.”

Alice raised a hand to her face. Even though it was just the two of them in the room, she couldn't help blushing.

Looking down, she realised Blood had already made his move. “Perhaps we should see how you like it when I tease you back,” she said coolly.

“I wouldn't mind.” His eyes sparkled. “If you _really_ wanted to make your point, you could always pin me down. I'm sure that would teach me a lesson.”

“Yes, because you'd hate that, wouldn't you?” Alice rolled her eyes, though deep down, she was enjoying his teasing. She moved another of her pieces forward, preparing for an attack, when Blood sucked his breath in. “What?”

He reached over and positioned his knight between her bishop and rook, forking the two pieces. “You fell right into that one, young lady.” With no way of blocking or taking the knight, she had to choose which of her pieces to lose.

She groaned. Usually, she and Blood were evenly matched when it came to chess. Alice had grown up playing board games with her sister, after all. Today, though, she was losing to Blood three to one, and from the way this game was going, he would be soon be upping his winning streak by one.

The sound of voices in the corridor tore her attention away from the board. She froze. Servants were constantly passing the room, but these seemed to come from just outside the door.

The next thing she knew, the door flew open and in burst two small figures.

“The chicken rabbit said you were in here, boss,” said Dee, rushing forward.

“Yeah, he mentioned something about Alice, too, but I think that was a mistake,” Dum added.

The pair paused in unison as their eyes fell on Alice. She only just managed to stand before they slammed into her, almost knocking her to the ground again. For a few seconds, Alice's world was a jumble of hugs and wails.

“Big sis, we missed you so much.”

“It was so boring here without you.”

Alice managed to wrest her hands free of their grips and rubbed their heads. “I missed you, too.”

“Why didn't you come to see us?”

“Yeah, we tried to find you but Boss wouldn't tell us where you were.”

“I didn't _know_ where she was.” Blood had risen to his feet. Despite the sharpness of his tone, Alice could tell from his expression that he wasn't angry at the interruption.

 _Well, that's it. The whole Hatter family knows I'm here._ Alice couldn't help but smile. She and Blood had tried so hard to keep their new relationship a secret, sneaking around the mansion and keeping their voices low, and it had all been for nothing.

But a part of her was glad she could be more open now. She'd made her decision to stay with Blood, so what was the point in hiding herself away? Not to mention how much she'd missed the Twins, too.

Dum pulled away from her, and Alice's heart leapt to see his eyes were filled with tears. “We thought you hated us, just because you hated Boss.”

Blood raised an eyebrow.

“You don't hate us, do you?” asked Dee. Unlike his brother, he wasn't crying, though he seemed to be on the verge.

“Of course I don't,” said Alice, squeezing them both close again. An idea came to her. “Say, since it's such a nice day, why don't we all go outside?”

“Is that a wise idea?” Blood asked.

“I see no harm,” said Alice with another glance at the window. “Besides, I feel like tea.”

A smile spread across the Hatter's face. “Outside it is, then.”

Alice giggled. _Why did I have a feeling you'd say that?_

*

Later that night, as the mansion rested, Alice lay in bed. She'd been drifting in that fuzzy space between sleep and consciousness for a while now, deliberating whether her body's needs were urgent enough to justify a trip to the bathroom or not. Most of all, she didn't want to break the position she had with Blood, who dozed peacefully behind her, his arm wrapped around her chest.

Inevitably, discomfort won. The bathroom it was.

She slipped out from underneath Blood's arm, taking extra care not to wake him, but despite her best efforts, he grunted sleepily and muttered, “Are you okay?”

Alice told him where she was headed, and he nodded. By the time she was off the bed, he'd fallen back asleep.

It was a short walk along the corridor to the bathroom. As far as she knew, nobody but Blood used this space, since the Twins and Elliot had their rooms on the first floor. Once she was finished, she walked back to Blood's quarters, wanting nothing more than to crawl back under the covers and close her eyes.

“Miss Alice?”

She paused in her steps and turned to see a single figure standing at the end of the corridor. Though she was little more than a silhouette, Alice could tell at once from her uniform and the slightly drawl of her tone that she was one of the faceless maids who worked in the mansion.

“Are you okay?” Alice asked.

 _She's probably surprised to see me here after so long,_ she thought. Back when she'd been living here, Alice had had a good relationship with several of the staff members, even helping them out with their work when she had time to spare.

“I'm... fine.” The woman sighed deeply, then made her way towards her. Alice frowned. There was a slight limp to her walk.

“Are you injured? I can get you some help.” Alice rushed forward to meet her. The woman stumbled the last few steps and landed in her arms.

“Thank you,” she breathed. “I'm... sorry.”

 _Sorry?_ Alice watched in confusion as the woman reached into the pocket of her dress. Then something flashed silver in the dark. By the time alarm bells chimed in her head, it was too late.

She barely managed a scream before the woman slipped behind her, grabbed her by the hair and jerked her head back. A knife pressed into her throat, so hard Alice feared it would break the skin if she so much as flinched.

“Make a move,” the woman whispered in her ear, “and I'll kill you.”


	19. Scarf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems like ages since I've updated this fic, when it's only been a week. I guess my mind has been in other places this week lol. Hopefully I'll manage to get back to my more regular update schedule in the next couple of days. Enjoy!

Alice's pulse pounded in her ears as the faceless held the knife against her throat. She knew she had to break away, had to fight back somehow, but her whole body was frozen.

“P-please let me go,” she stammered. The words sounded so pathetic coming from her mouth, but they were all she could manage.

“I don't think so,” muttered the woman. She almost sounded apologetic. “Now, we're going to walk back slowly, one step at a time. Any funny business and I'll decorate this lovely carpet with your blood. Understand?”

“Yes,” Alice whispered. Her mind ran through all the self-defence moves Boris had taught her until she remembered with a sinking feeling that every one of those relied on fighting off the attacker _before_ they captured you.

She thought of Boris, how her last words with him had been shouted in anger. Blood was waiting for her in his room, probably wondering why she was taking so long. She couldn't die with things as they were between them, but most of all, she couldn't die for herself. She _wanted_ to live. And as the woman started dragging her backwards, she realised she was going to do everything she could to survive this.

They'd almost reached the stairwell when Alice brought her hand up and grabbed at the knife. Taken aback by the sudden movement, the faceless tried to slash her neck, but Alice managed to slip her fingers beneath the blade and push it away. She groaned as the razor-sharp edge dug into her fingers.

“Help!” she managed to scream before the woman wrapped her arm around her throat and forced her into the nearest wall.

Still gripping the blade, Alice struggled against her attacker. She twisted and thrust an elbow into her ribs, eliciting a grunt of pain. The woman still held her firmly by the hair. Again, she tried to drive the knife into her neck, but Alice held it back, gritting her teeth to keep from crying out.

Footsteps pounded behind them. Then someone's hand grabbed the faceless by the wrist and wrenched her back. Alice turned to see Blood with one around the woman's waist, the other gripping her knife hand, which she was waving dangerously close to his face.

“Get Elliot!” he shouted at her over the woman's enraged screams.

Alice didn't have to be asked twice. She ran to the stairwell and called the hare's name. Within half a minute, Elliot had appeared on the floor below in his nightclothes.

He didn't even have to ask whether something was wrong. One look at Alice's panicked face sent him bounding up the stairs.

By the time he reached the floor, Blood had managed to wrestle the faceless to the ground. He'd pushed her hands up behind her back and was using a knee to pin her shoulders down. Elliot ran straight over and helped to restrain her legs.

“Alice, go and get something to tie her with,” Blood barked.

Returning to the bedroom, Alice scoured the area until she saw a scarf hanging up on the coat rack in the corner. She grabbed it, raced back into the corridor and handed it to Blood, who wrapped it tightly around the woman's wrists and knotted it.

“Can you take her on your own?” he asked Elliot.

“I'll be fine.”

The faceless was still writhing, though her screams had quieted down. At her side lay the knife. It almost seemed like overkill to watch two grown men hold down a woman barely bigger than Alice, until she remembered how she'd almost overpowered Blood on her own just a few moments ago.

After making sure that Elliot had a firm handle on the woman, Blood stood and rushed over to Alice. He took her hand in his and turned it over. “You're bleeding.”

It was probably a side-effect of the adrenaline, but Alice had almost forgotten about her hand. The base of her fingers and palm had been sliced in several areas, and though the cuts didn't seem that deep, her whole had was stained red.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” Blood ran his hands frantically over her.

Alice shook her head. “I don't think so.”

“Okay. Good.” Visibly relieved, Blood hugged her to his bare chest. He was dressed in just the black trousers he'd been sleeping in, having obviously run straight to her from the bed when she'd screamed. She rested her head against his collar, allowing herself to relax against his warmth and the safety of his arms.

The sound of Elliot grunting made her look around. He'd managed to sling the woman over his shoulder. Since her arms were tied, her only defence was kicking him, though she seemed to have already accepted what little effect that would have on the hare and resolved to lay limp instead.

“Should I take her downstairs?” he asked.

Blood nodded before taking Alice's wounded hand in his again. “Come on. Let's get you bandaged up.”

*

“She's not moving.”

Blood peered over her shoulder into the little stone cell where the woman sat in the corner, arms wrapped around her legs, dark brown hair draped over her face. “No, I don't suppose she is.”

Alice had never been in the mansion basement before. It reminded her of the area below Heart Castle where Blood had once been imprisoned, but with just two cells side by side. The single lamp on the wall was the only source of light, casting a dim glow across the space they were standing in and each of the cells.

“Has anything like this ever happened to one of the faceless before?” Alice asked.

“You mean, 'have they ever gone feral and tried to kill one of us'?” said Elliot. “Never.”

“I've heard stories.”

Alice and Elliot looked at Blood at the same time.

“Stories?” she asked.

“Mm. It's rare, but some faceless have turned on role-holders before. Usually, it's due to a personal grudge.” Blood rubbed his chin. “It's never happened to my own staff, though.”

Alice frowned. The way he said 'happened to' made it seem like some kind of disease that made you crazy when you caught it, though she doubted that very much. And yet the alternate explanation made no sense at all.

“I haven't done anything to spite the faceless here,” she said. “At least, I don't think so.”

“You haven't been here long enough to do so,” Blood answered with a humourless chuckle.

Alice turned her eyes back to the cell and let them linger on the faceless for a few seconds. Even now, she sat eerily still, like some kind of ghost suspended in time. Hadn't Blood been attacked by a group of faceless, too? She'd assumed when he'd told her that it had been an attack sent by another of the role-holders, as often happened in this world, but now she suspected that it was something more. She made a note to ask him about it the moment they were out of this room.

“Shall I escort Alice back upstairs?” asked Elliot.

 _Why would I need to be escorted..._ A chill trickled down her spine as she realised what he meant.

“Blood, you can't.” She placed her hands on his shoulders in an attempt to get him to look at her, but he was avoiding her eyes.

“I have to,” he mumbled. “You know that.”

Alice had walked in on Blood interrogating a faceless before, just before they'd started seeing each other seriously. The image was still burned in her mind. She'd always known the hands that touched her so gently were capable of utter violence, but the thought of him torturing this woman, despite what she'd done to her, made her sick to her stomach.

Elliot sighed. “Alice, if she won't talk—”

“Give it a day. Please.” Alice moved her bandaged hand to Blood's neck, finally forcing him to face her. “If she doesn't give anything up in the next few time periods, then you can do what you want to her. But give her a chance.”

Blood pulled his lips into a hard line. Then he closed his eyes and exhaled loudly through his nose. “Fine.”

Two sharp knocks punctured the air as Elliot rapped on the cell bars. “You hear that? You've got three time periods to decide whether or not you want to come clean or not.”

The woman remained absolutely still, leading Alice to wonder whether or not she'd even heard their words.

 _Three time periods._ It seemed like such a short time. She could only pray the woman gathered her senses by then, for her sake as much as Alice's.


	20. Jam

“An afterimage, you say?”

“Yes.” Alice bent down to take the muffins out of the oven. “That's weird, isn't it?”

“Very.” Blood was just putting the finishing touches to their breakfast tray, rifling around in the cupboards for jam. “Raspberry or apricot?”

“Raspberry,” said Alice. She stacked the hot muffins in the middle of the tray, completing their little ensemble. Then she picked it up and started towards the door. “Do you want to sit inside or outside?”

Picking up the teapot he'd been preparing in one hand and the cups in the other, Blood said, “Let's go outside.”

They walked together to the garden, which was empty except for a single faceless clipping the hedges. He waved at the pair of them. Alice couldn't help but flash a smile back as she placed the tray on the table.

“Don't,” Blood muttered, eyeing him.

Alice was about to protest, but decided against it. Ever since the attack, Blood hadn't let her out of his sights. He'd spent the rest of the night clutching her to his chest, as if he were afraid she'd be attacked again if he didn't keep her as physically close to him as possible. Just as well, because Alice had barely been able to sleep. Even now, her mind was racing with the attack and the thought of what would happen to the woman if, after the next time period, she decided not to talk.

“So,” said Blood, sitting down next to her and pouring the two of them some tea, “what do you think it all means?”

“I was hoping you'd be able to help me out with that.” Alice thanked him as he passed her a cup and took a sip, careful not to burn her tongue. “Julius told me once that the afterimages don't act on their own. They have to be directed by someone else.”

Blood leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. “Personally, I've never become too involved in that area of this world, but I remember hearing the same.”

“It's just too strange, though. A group of faceless and afterimages attack you, then burn down the Clock Tower and try to kidnap Julius...” Alice shook her head. “Do you think a role-holder's behind it all?”

“If I say 'yes', will you try to blame it all on me again?”

Alice's cheeks reddened. “Of course not.”

“Sorry,” Blood mumbled. “That was wrong of me to joke about. But to answer your question, I wouldn't take it off the table. It could be that one of the role-holders is orchestrating these attacks.”

Ace's betrayal had taught Alice that even those closest to her could turn out to have sinister intentions. Her thoughts immediately went to Boris, though she quickly pulled them away again. Just because they'd had a fight didn't mean he had anything to do with this.

She sighed to herself. She was fed up of feeling so guilty whenever she thought Boris. Later today, she'd head to the Amusement Park and try to find him. Even if he wouldn't accept her apology, at least she'd feel better knowing she'd tried to make things up between them.

The _clink_ of Blood's teacup as he placed it back on his saucer brought her attention back to him. “Well, it could be that we have our answers soon. That is, assuming that the maid's attack on you is linked to all this business with afterimages.”

Alice watched him take one of the muffins, slice it in half and slather it with jam. The sticky pink colour left her with a lump in her throat.

_I shouldn't have chosen raspberry._

“How will you do it?” she mumbled.

“Hm?” Blood paused as he realised what she meant. “Is that really something you want to know?”

Of course, she didn't _want_ to know, but rather she felt like she _had_ to. The idea of the man she loved inflicting violence on anyone was awful at the best of times, but there was something about torture that particularly unsettled her, even if the woman had tried to kill her.

Seeing her expression, Blood raised an eyebrow. “If you really want to know... I haven't thought about it.”

“Can't you get Elliot to do it instead?”

“Elliot will be in the room when it happens.”

“But—”

“She tried to kill you, Alice,” Blood snapped. “Quite frankly, whatever happens from now on, she's made her choice.” He placed his hand on her thigh, his voice softening. “I'm not going to lose you again, especially not after I just got you back. Frankly, the blood of one faceless is nothing if it means taking you out of danger.”

Alice placed her hand over his hand squeezed his fingers through the gloves, though she still couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye. “All right. Do what you need to do.”

Despite the effort they'd put into preparing breakfast, Alice only managed to eat a couple of bites in the end. Once they were finished and cleared up, Alice turned to Blood and asked, “Can I go down to the basement quickly?”

He pulled his lips into a tight, disapproving line, but led her there anyway.

“Call up to me the moment anything happens,” he mumbled.

The woman was sitting in the same corner of the room as Alice descended the stairs to the cells, though she'd turned around so that she was facing the wall. Alice wondered whether she'd stayed like that the entire time she'd been away.

She paused outside the cell. Her heartbeat had started to flutter again, not because she thought she was in danger, but from the strangely awkward feeling she got standing before the person who just a few hours ago had tried to end her life.

“Can you hear me?” she asked, wrapping a hand around one of the bars.

No reply.

Alice closed her eyes and sighed. “You know what's going on, don't you? With the afterimages and the Clock Tower. You have to tell me.”

Still, the woman didn't answer. Alice felt desperation leak into her voice. “Nobody's sent me here. I'm trying to help you before it's too late.” She paused, trying to think of anything that would work. “You weren't trying to kill me, were you? Even though you had the knife... You were getting me to walk back. Do you need me for something?”

At last, the woman stirred. She turned her head slowly, staring out of the cell at Alice with her blank eye sockets. “Don't talk about things you don't understand, Outsider.”

Alice gripped the bars harder in frustration. “You know what's going to happen next, don't you? I can't stop him.”

“Then don't,” said the woman with alarming indifference. “It can't be worse than living in this hell.”

She turned back to the corner, bringing the conversation to an abrupt close. Alice sensed that even if she were to press her more, she'd heard all this woman had to say for today. She clenched her jaw.

 _Fine. If that's how you want to act, then so be it,_ she thought, heading back up the stairs to where Blood was waiting for her.

*

An uneasiness followed Alice as she travelled the now-familiar path through the forest back to the Amusement Park. How strange that in just a matter of days, the world she'd grown to love had become a dark and strange place to her, almost like it had been those first few weeks she'd been here. Just walking along this path, she thought she felt eyes staring at her from the trees, though when she looked, nobody was there.

No matter what she tried to think about, her thoughts always returned to the woman. Blood and Elliot were probably with her right now. Instead of letting her mind linger on the details of what they were doing, she remembered, for what must have been the hundredth time now, the woman's last words to her.

Had the 'hell' she'd talked about referred to the Hatter Mansion or this world itself? Alice had wondered about the faceless before. All of them seemed so content with going about their own business, whether that was working for the role-holders like the guards at the castle or the staff at the park, or just living their own lives in a town or village. In many ways, they were the silent background players of this world; and yet, it was hard to imagine Wonderland without them. Could something like that really be described as 'hell'?

Alice shook her head. The more she thought about this situation, the closer she grew to madness. It was eating her alive. Soon, she'd be at the Amusement Park. She'd check in with Julius and Gowland, then go out to find Boris. He couldn't avoid her forever, after all.

She was just nearing the end of the path when the feeling of being watched suddenly hit her again hard. Then something shuffled behind her. Before she could turn, a hand clamped down over her mouth from behind. Instead of fingers, it was a handkerchief that covered her face. She tried to strike out at her captor, but with each passing second, she felt her mind grow fuzzier. Her movements slowed, as if she were trying to wade through water. Before she knew it, she'd lost all feelings in her arms completely. Her legs slumped. Then the world turned black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I reach the 2/3 point of this story, I've decided to take a small break for a couple of weeks. This is by far the longest fic I've written in several years, and I can feel myself reaching the point of burnout, so I'm going to spend the time gathering my ideas for the ending while working on a couple of new projects to keep my mind fresh. Please note that this is NOT an indefinite hiatus. I am excited to finish this fic and will absolutely return with new chapters soon. :) Thanks so much to all readers, commenters and kudo-leavers. See you in a bit! ❤︎


	21. Shackles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Thank you so much to everyone who left encouraging comments/messages while I was gone. It still amazes me that people read and enjoy my work, especially in such a small fandom as this. I'll be uploading more regularly from now on, so feel free to subscribe for updates, or just keep checking back. ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ

Blood perched in the window seat and gazed out across the mansion's front garden. His legs were crossed, one foot tapping absent-mindedly to the rhythm of a song he vaguely remembered from his childhood but couldn't for the life of him name.

Sat at the table nearby, Elliot muttered to himself as he rifled through the mess of papers in front of him. Usually, the noises he made while he worked annoyed Blood to the point where he'd tell him to keep it quiet, but he was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to care today.

He and Elliot had worked on the woman for almost an hour and received nothing in return. No matter how much they'd pushed her, she'd refused to even give them her name, let alone spill the reason why she'd attacked Alice. Now he was left with nothing but the memory of the experience playing over and over in his mind.

Despite what Alice probably thought, he rarely got any pleasure from inflicting violence upon others. He was just very good at it. Then again, that was likely why he still held his role after all this time. Where others were afraid to pull the trigger, Blood never hesitated, neither did he care that his hands were perpetually stained.

So, why did he have such a bad feeling right now?

“You okay there, Blood?”

He looked around to see Elliot eyeing him from the table.

“Fine,” he said with a sigh.

Elliot raised an eyebrow as though unconvinced, but decided not to press the matter further. Holding up a bunch of papers, he asked, “What should I do with these old invoices.”

“If they're old, throw them out.”

“Right.” Elliot tore the papers in half and jammed them into the wastebasket by his side while Blood returned his attention to the window.

There was another thing on his mind, too. It had been a while since Alice had left the mansion to visit the Amusement Park. She hadn't told him what she'd gone for – not that he could stop her from visiting other territories, either way – but for some reason, his stomach tied himself in knots when he thought of her walking through Wonderland on her own.

Perhaps it was simply him being overprotective after the the recent attacks. On top of that, it was still daylight. She was probably fine.

How strange, he thought, that not so long ago, he couldn't have given a damn about where Alice was or what she was doing. Now the thought of her leaving his side for just a few time periods was enough to make him anxious.

His eyes followed the path to the gates that Dee and Dum were guarding out of sight, then scoured the forest beyond. Hopefully, it wouldn't be long before he saw a little figure dressed in blue and white emerging from those trees, and he could relax once again.

 _Come back safely, Alice,_ he thought to himself. _Please._

*

When Alice opened her eyes, she was greeted by total darkness.

For a few moments, she simply lay on her back, trying to work out where she was. Her head ached with a pain that got worse the longer she thought about it, almost as if she were having a repeat of her hangover.

But she hadn't drunk anything since that night with Blood, had she? In fact, the last thing she could remember was walking through the forest to the Amusement Park. Then someone had tackled her from behind and held a cloth over her mouth...

How strange that she could remember the events directly leading up to her blackout when everything before was so fuzzy. Not that it mattered much now. All she knew was that whoever had attacked her had likely brought her to this place, which meant she was probably in danger.

Raising her head ever so slightly, she looked around the space. Her eyes had adjusted a little to the darkness, meaning that she could pick out a few details. The walls seemed uneven and pitted like the skin of an orange, and a coolness hung in the air, making the hairs on her bare stand on end.

That was when she realised. She was inside a cave.

Alice frowned. Even in the deepest parts of the forest, she'd never come across a cave entrance before. Was she even still in Wonderland? Unless she was in a dungeon of some kind, like the one beneath Heart Castle. She shivered at the thought. Wherever she'd been taken, all that mattered now was getting out of here and finding her way back to safety.

Trying her best to ignore the pain in her head, Alice sat up on the bed and made to swing around. Something rattled at her feet. She reached out to find a pair of thin metal shackles tied around her ankles.

Her heart dropped. She was chained to the bed.

Desperately, she tried to pull her feet away. When that didn't work, she felt around the cuffs for some kind of release, but found only a tiny keyhole on each. It soon became apparent that she wasn't getting out of here without the key.

The sound of footsteps made her jump. She lay back down against the bed a mere moment before a pair of figures entered the chamber from her right. Through the smallest crack under her eyelids, she watched them walk towards her. The taller of the pair carried a lamp, which threw long shadows against the walls and illuminated the blank sockets of their eyes.

Alice held her breath. So, it was faceless she was dealing with, was it? She supposed it made sense. None of the role-holders she knew would treat her like this.

“Is she awake?” said the taller man in a gravelly voice. “I thought I heard the chains moving.”

They came to a stop above her and looked down. Not wanting them to know she was conscious just yet, Alice closed her eyes all the way and tried to keep her breathing natural.

“Not sure,” said the other man. “She could have just been moving in her sleep.”

“Only one way to find out.”

Something hard flicked Alice on the nose, making her grunt involuntarily. The taller man chuckled. “Just as I thought. Wakey wakey, sweetheart.”

Now that there was no use in faking sleep, Alice opened her eyes. The two faceless peered down at her like she was some kind of specimen in a cage. She tried to sit up, but the shorter one grabbed her arms and pushed her back onto the bed.

“Relax. We're going to set you free.” His voice was surprisingly soft.

Alice didn't bother struggling as the other man took a key from his pocket and unlocked the manacles one by one. Even if she ran, she knew nothing about this cave system and how to find her way out. Best to play along with them for now.

“Do you have any water?” she asked hopefully.

“The boss'll have some, if you can wait a few minutes.”

Alice raised an eyebrow. “Boss?”

“Don't worry. We're taking you to him.” The taller one offered her his hand, but Alice slid off the bed of her own accord.

 _So long as I comply with what they say, they should let me go,_ she told herself. After all, they'd let her out of the manacles the moment they'd realised she was awake, hadn't they? If they'd wanted to hurt her, they probably would have done so already.

They walked in silence through the winding passages and chambers of the cave, lit by the lamp that the taller man carried in front of her. The more turns they made, the more certain Alice grew that she never would have been able to find her way out of here on her own. Eventually, they entered a long natural corridor, at the end of which glowed a bright light. Her heart leapt. They were going outside.

Yet what awaited her at the end of the passage wasn't daylight, but something else entirely.

The cavern was as big as a ballroom and twice as high. Alice immediately thought of a beehive. The wall on the left was covered with wooden bunks, stacked one on top of the other and propped up by a network of stilts and ladders, while the other supported a series of platforms that ran all the way around the chamber. Everywhere she looked, faceless carried boxes around, or lounged in the bunks, or sat talking in groups on the floor, their cheerful voices ringing against the walls. There had to be at least a hundred of them.

“Wh-what is this...?” Alice was too astounded to say much more. The whole scene was like something from a fantasy book.

The taller man opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted as a figure called out from the centre of the room. He waved at them as he approached.

“Ah, Alice, you're here. Excellent. I've been waiting to meet you for so long.”


	22. Community

The man was tall – as tall as Elliot, even – and dressed in a simple grey jumper and trousers. His mousy brown hair fell in waves to his chin, each side tucked neatly behind his ears, and he sported a short, stubbly beard that reminded Alice of Gowland. The smile he wore was subtle but kind.

“Have we met?” asked Alice.

“Not yet, though I'm so glad the day has come.” The man came to a stop before her, took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “You're even more lovely close up.”

“Oh. Thanks.” Not wanting to anger him, Alice allowed her hand to linger in his for a few seconds before pulling it back. “If we've never met, how do you know who I am?”

“ _Everyone_ knows who the Outsider is. I feel like one of the last people in this world who hasn't met you yet.” The man's smile widened. “My name is Raphael. Welcome to my home.”

Once again, Alice found her eyes wandering around the cavern. She still couldn't believe the size of it. “Your... home?”

“Well, I should say _our_ home. I don't lay claim to this place, even though the people here look to me as their leader. This is a community where everyone's voice is heard.”

 _A community..._ Looking around, Alice couldn't think of a better word to describe what she could see. Many of the faceless were laughing or talking to one another animatedly. She even spotted a group of children playing some sort of board game in the far corner.

“You're probably surprised a place like this exists in Wonderland, aren't you? Come on, let me show you around.”

Raphael wrapped his arm around Alice's shoulder, making her jump. He pulled back quickly. “Ah, my apologies. Here.” He pulled up his jumper to reveal a handgun, which he took out. For a horrifying moment, Alice thought he was going to shoot her. “You know how to work this, don't you? Take it.”

Alice had no choice but to do as he said. The gun was slightly smaller than Boris's and plated with a gold-coloured metal instead of silver. She remembered Ace telling her once that only one kind of gun was available for the faceless to buy and sell. This must have been one of them.

“Nobody here would dream of hurting you, but I want you to feel safe,” said Raphael, beckoning. “This way.”

He set off in a slow pace across the room. A pair of faceless waved at him as he passed. He smiled back at them.

“We're still in Wonderland, you said?” asked Alice once she'd caught up.

“Naturally.”

“Which territory?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Raphael's expression harden slightly. “We don't like to think of ourselves as belonging to a territory. That's the whole point of this community. We're an autonomous group who doesn't conform to the rules of this world.”

“Wait.” Alice tapped Raphael's elbow, prompting him to stop. Perhaps it was still the after-effects of whatever she'd been drugged with swimming around her head, but she felt like she was trapped in some kind of dream. “You mean to tell me you've all broken away and formed your own settlement here. Is that even allowed?”

The man chuckled. “You act as though the rules of this world can't be bent a little. As an Outsider yourself, _you_ are an affront to those same rules. Besides, nothing bad has happened so far. Until recently, that is.” He started walking and beckoned to her again. “Come.”

They walked to the other side of the room together, Raphael pointing at the various structures and explaining them to her as they did so. He seemed friendly, Alice thought, at least on the outside, though she was still wary not to let her guard down in front of a man who'd kidnapped her and kept her chained to a bed, even if he did explain that it was to stop her from running off and getting lost.

“After all, these caves run all through the mountain,” he said. “Even I haven't explored them all myself.”

“Mountain?”

Raphael gave her a knowing smile and stopped in front of a wooden door that fit almost perfectly in a gap in the wall. He pulled out a key and unlocked the padlock, then ushered Alice through before him. The passage on the other side was completely dark except for a pinprick of white that she assumed to be a distant light source.

Once they were both on the other side, Raphael closed the door, cutting them off from the noise and energy of the main chamber. The space smelled damp and earthy. Alice gripped the gun in her hand, ready to react if anyone suddenly jumped out of the dark to apprehend her, but all she could hear was Raphael stepping around her.

“Tread carefully. The floor's a little uneven,” he muttered.

Alice took his advice, moving after him with slow steps. At one point, her foot came down at an angle on a bump and she almost tripped, but managed to catch herself on the wall.

“I guess it would have been too much to install some lamps here, too, right?” she mumbled, not bothering to keep the sarcasm from her voice.

“If we had lights here, we'd run the risk of being spotted.”

Alice was about to ask him what he was talking about, when she found her eyes drawn to the light up ahead. This time, she felt sure that she was looking at daylight. What's more, a light breeze had begun to blow gently against her face.

When she finally reached the end of the passage, her heart leapt.

She was looking down on Wonderland through a natural window about a metre wide. From this height, the world looked like a map: she could see the Clock Tower with its burnt out windows, and beyond that, the Hatter Mansion, while on the right, Heart Castle cast its shadow from on top of the rocky plateau where it stood. Closer were the Amusement Park and the village that Alice called home. Then, directly underneath them, she spotted an even more familiar sight.

The lake where she and Boris trained was a shimmering blue disc under the noon sun. How many times had she stood at the side of the water and looked up at these mountains, not knowing that there might be a whole other world inside them?

“I had no idea,” she breathed.

“Of course you didn't,” said Raphael simply. “We keep ourselves hidden well.”

Placing a hand on the wall to steady herself, Alice turned to look at him. “What's the point, though? Why not just live normally like the rest of the faceless?”

“And become a slave to the role-holders? No, thanks. I've done my share of that.” Raphael snorted softly. “This must all be coming as a shock to you.”

Alice thought back to the maid who'd attacked her, how she'd described her living situation as 'hell'.

“A little,” she answered truthfully. “But things haven't been right for a while now.”

“I know. That's why I wanted to bring you here.” Raphael turned to the window and looked out across the landscape. “We may be fairly isolated, but that doesn't mean we don't keep track of what's going on. I know about the attacks that have been happening recently. I watched the Clock Tower burn from this very spot. But you have to understand. That had nothing to do with us.”

Alice held her breath. She knew what was coming up. “You know who did it, though, don't you?”

Despite his lack of eyes, Alice could sense that Raphael was staring at her from the side. “A while back, a group of us decided that enough was enough. We were fed up with the way the role-holders treated the faceless. Nobody cared if we were hurt or even killed. Not that it's their fault. It's just the way the world works. The role-holders take centre stage and we faceless are the background players.

“So, we ran away. Came up here. Made a life for ourselves in a place no-one would think to look for us. For a while, everything was fine, but then it became clear that there were some of us who held... different viewpoints about how we should go forward.

“Once I was free and my anger had passed, I held no ill will towards the role-holders. Others wanted revenge. The arguments became more and more common, and then they started turning into fights. People were considering going back to their normal lives. So, I did what I had to. I threw the offenders out told them to never return while they were still bent on revenge. I haven't seen any of them in a long time, but they're the ones I suspect are causing all these problems.”

Alice remained quiet for a few seconds as she took all that in. Her head was spinning with questions, trying to match the pieces up like a jigsaw. “But why wait until now? If the other group hate the role-holders so much, why haven't they made a move before?”

“Maybe something's changed recently that they want to take advantage of.”

The answer hit Alice at once. “Ace.”

Nodding, Raphael said, “With the Executioner out of the way, there's nobody around to stop the faceless from attacking the role-holders directly. It seems they want to use this time to do as much damage as they can.”

 _Executioner..._ Alice had never heard anyone call Ace by that title before. She thought back to Julius's words that time she'd brought him the clock: _Ace was more than just a collector for me. He helped maintain the order of this world._

Perhaps this was precisely what he'd been talking about.

“Are they the ones controlling the afterimages, too?

“I couldn't say for certain, but I'd imagine so.” Raphael clicked his tongue in irritation. “If they're hoarding clocks, then I hate to know what else they have planned for the future. Luckily, their attacks are sporadic right now. Nobody's gotten hurt, as far as I know.”

An image of Blood's wounded side came to mind, but Alice didn't argue. After all, nobody had been killed, and surely that was what mattered most.

Suddenly, Raphael turned and grabbed her shoulders. She looked up into his face, and for just a moment, she thought she could see the outline of a pair of eyes in his empty sockets. It must have been a trick of the light, though, as the moment she blinked, they were gone.

“Alice, you have to promise me you won't go looking for these people. They're dangerous.” His voice dropped to a more serious tone. “There's a chance that they'd use you to hurt the role-holders you're close to.”

“Like Blood and Julius?”

“Precisely.”

Alice's eyes widened. “The other night, one of the maids at the Hatter Mansion attacked me, but we captured her. Blood and Elliot said they were going to...” Her words trailed off. For some reason, she couldn't say the word 'torture' out loud. “They're going to question her.”

“Hm.” The faceless furrowed his brow, as if considering something. “In that case, I need to speak to her. She could give us information about where the group's hiding. We'd finally be able to put an end to this mess.”

“Blood wouldn't let you have her,” said Alice.

“No?” The smallest hint of a smile lifted Raphael's lips. “We'll see about that.”

Before Alice could ask him what he meant, he pulled his arms from her shoulders and began to walk back along the passage. “You're a smart girl, Alice, to take all this so well. I'm glad I finally got to meet you.”

There was an undertone of longing to his voice, as if he were thinking of something that upset him, but his next words returned to normal. “Come on. I'll show you the rest of our home, and then you can go. Unless you'd like to join me for dinner?”

“Oh, no. That's kind of you, but I've got to get back. Blood's probably worried about me.”

“Right. The Hatter.” Once again, Raphael's voice changed slightly. Then he beckoned. “Well, come on. I've got to lock the door. You wouldn't want to be trapped here alone in the dark, would you?"


	23. Lemonade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything in this fic is just a reminder of how dirty I did Ace in Glass Roses :') Enjoy the chapter!

Boris was waiting for her outside the café, his back turned as he looked down at the menu card. Alice watched him for a few moments before sighing and walking up to him.

Wordlessly, she took the seat on the other side of the table. Boris looked up at the sound of chair legs scraping against concrete. “Oh. Alice.”

She studied his expression carefully. He didn't seem angry at seeing her again. If anything, he looked surprised.

“So, you got my note,” she said uselessly.

“Yeah.”

The silence that hung between them was so thick it felt tangible. Alice held her breath, wondering whether to go first or let Boris speak. She'd rehearsed everything she'd wanted to say on the way here in her head, but now that she was face-to-face with him, her thoughts had gone blank.

Finally, Boris shuffled in his seat. “How have you been?”

“Fine,” said Alice. “And you?”

“No complaints. How are the Hatters?”

Unlike last time, there didn't appear to be any anger in his voice. Alice dropped her eyes to the table. “They're all okay.” In fact, she'd just come here from the mansion.

“Glad to hear it.” Suddenly, Boris sighed and shook his head. “Look, let's just get it out of the way with. I was wrong to shout at you, and I've been feeling bad about it ever since. I'm sorry, Alice.”

Hearing Boris break the ice, Alice felt her words float to the surface once again. “No, _I'm_ the one who should be apologising. You're one of my closest friends and I was wrong to lie to you, especially after everything you'd done for me.”

Boris reached across the table and placed his hands on top of hers. He flashed her a warm smile. “Apology accepted. Fighting sucks, right?”

“It really does.” Encouraged by his smile, Alice laughed softly in relief. She'd been worried about this for so long.

“I didn't tell you at the time, but you really smacked me hard. I was impressed!”

“Oh.” Alice felt her cheeks redden. She'd forgotten about that. “Sorry.”

“No need. I deserved it.” He looked up as a waiter approached their table carrying a tray of drinks. “I ordered you lemonade. Is that okay?”

“Perfect.” After thanking the waiter, she took a sip. The sharpness of the lemon juice rolled across her tongue.

“Julius has been asking about you,” said Boris, downing half of his glass in one. He'd apparently opted for some kind of iced tea.

The last time Alice had seen Julius had been the time when she'd found his sketch pad. She'd been on her way to visit him when one of Raphael's group had kidnapped her. “How is he handling being away from the tower?”

“Fine. Mostly, at least. Gowland's the one who sees him the most. He never leaves the house. I think the Amusement Park scares him.”

Alice couldn't hold back her giggle. She'd actually been considering taking Julius to the park at some point. He'd probably hate it and have to be dragged off the sofa, but she figured it would be a welcome change of pace for the both of them, a distraction from everything that had been going on.

“So,” said Boris, leaning back in his chair, “there's probably a bunch of stuff I've missed while we've been apart. Fancy filling me in?”

Alice took a sip of her drink. She'd been planning on telling him about Raphael, but as her eyes scanned her surroundings, she realised it would probably be better to hold on until later. The tables around them were packed with faceless, and she wasn't about to run the risk of one of his spies overhearing them talking.

She kept the conversation light until they'd finished their drinks and were walking down the street. Boris stretched out his arms, threw back his head and yawned.

“That was nice. I can't remember the last time I went to a café with someone else.” He smiled at Alice. “Do you want to go to the Amusement Park for a bit? We're running a promotion where you can get a free ice cream.”

With the lemonade having awakened her sweet tooth, Alice had to admit that ice cream sounded good right now, but she shook her head. “I was hoping we could talk somewhere more private, actually.” Seeing the flash of fear in Boris's eyes, she quickly added, “Nothing bad has happened. Don't worry.”

 _At least, I don't think it has,_ she thought.

“Of course.” Boris took her by the wrist and gently led her forward. ”Come on. I know just the place.”

*

“And he just keeps them there, you say?”

“No,” said Alice. “They _want_ to be there. Some of them even have children.”

“Huh.” Boris and rubbed his chin. “Well, I can honestly tell you I wasn't expecting any of that.”

“Neither was I.” Alice leaned back on her hands, the grass tickling her fingers. The small meadow they sat in lay just outside the village. With the forest on one side and houses on the other, it was the perfect spot away from eavesdroppers.

“Do you think they mean any harm?” asked Boris a little hesitantly.

Alice thought back to the time she'd spent with Raphael. While she wasn't about to say she trusted him completely, her gut told her that he'd been telling the truth. After all, if he and his people had been living in the mountains peacefully all this time, then what reason did he have to lie?

Boris nodded when Alice told him that. “True, true. This other group, though, the one that split off at the beginning...”

Even now, Alice wasn't sure what to think about that. “They're the dangerous ones. It's likely that they've been taking clocks and controlling the afterimages.”

“Controlling afterimages, huh?” Boris fell back against the grass and looked up at her, the dark pink of his hair a stark contrast against the green. “I didn't know the faceless could do that. Heck, I didn't know the faceless even had a _reason_ to do something like that. I always just thought they, you know, went along with the flow.”

 _Nobody cares if we're hurt or even killed. The role-holders take centre stage and we faceless are the background players._ Raphael's words returned to her with surprising clarity. It seemed that to the role-holders, as well as her, there were still so many aspects of the faceless that were overlooked.

“Do you think that he was just telling you what he wanted you to hear?” Boris continued. “He did drug and kidnap you, after all.”

“I'm not sure. It's not like it matters either way at the moment. The only way to get into the caves is through a long corridor, and they have guards on patrol. Even if you took an army, you'd only be able to enter in single file, and they'd pick you off one-by-one.”

Raphael had been very clear in explaining that to Alice. It hadn't been a threat, but a warning that he and his people wouldn't hesitate to defend their home to the death. Not that Alice had any intentions of disrupting their way of life. Raphael had made her swear not to tell another soul about the existence of their community, but it wasn't as if she could keep something like this to herself. Boris was only the second person she'd told after Blood, and she'd made the pair of them promise to stay quiet about it. Blood had sworn not even to tell Elliot.

“I'm not saying we take an army there.” Boris grinned as he turned onto his front. “That'd be fun, though, wouldn't it? Everyone shooting their guns at the same time, people screaming left and right. I haven't had a proper fight in ages.”

Despite the amount of times she'd been living here, it was apparent to Alice that she and the residents still had very different opinions about the meaning of 'fun'.

“If the other group really are the ones who destroyed the Clock Tower and are getting the afterimages to attack people, what do you think it means?” Alice drew her knees up and hugged them to her chest.

“They probably want to change time or something. That's the usual reason people mess around with clocks, isn't it? It's a shame Ace isn't around to sort them out.”

“That's more or less what Raphael said,” Alice muttered.

“I never liked the guy, but damn, was he good with a sword. _Scary_ good. In fact—” He paused suddenly, as if remembering something. “Ah, sorry. I don't need to tell you what you already know, right?”

Alice shook her head. “Don't worry about it.” She didn't particularly like remembering the time Ace had almost killed her in a duel, but she didn't hold it against Boris for bringing it up. “The way you're talking about Ace makes it sound like he's dead.”

“Of course not. At least, I don't think so. I've never broken the rules that badly before.” With a sigh, Boris rolled onto his back again. “I don't plan on dying anytime soon, either. It'll take more than a few bullets to bring me down.”

He shot Alice a playful look, but she was too deep in thought to return it. She never had gotten around to talking to Elliot about what had happened to Ace. Now it seemed that the only one who knew how to go forward was the Knight.

If only there were some way to reach out to him. If she could speak to him for just a few minutes, it might help shine a light on the situation. At the moment, all she had was shards of information scattered around like broken glass. As the Executioner, someone who'd once dealt with faceless who broke the rules, Ace must have some knowledge of how to track down the group causing these attacks. Alice wouldn't see another of her friends hurt. She had to put an end to this, even if it meant taking up a sword and doing the job herself.


	24. Book

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this chapter and the next in my head for a long time, so I feel extra pressure to do the scene justice while writing. I love how the Alice series flips so effortlessly between darkness and fluff. We may still be in the Country of Hearts here, but bringing in elements from other countries doesn't hurt, I suppose ;)

“I can't believe you brought your whole tea set out here.”

Blood looked up from his book, a slight smile on his lips. “Why not?”

“It's just... ridiculously excessive.” Alice gestured at the tray on the grass near Blood's feet, complete with a floral teapot, sugar bowl, milk jug and selection of small spoons. Why he needed that many, Alice would never know.

“Oh? And what happens if I finish?” To prove his point, Blood leaned forward, placed his cup on the saucer with a _clink_ and refilled it to the brim.

Alice scowled, though it was a playful gesture. She couldn't remember how many times she'd teased the Hatter about his tea habits. He raised an eyebrow at her expression and lifted the cup to his mouth.

“I share my one true love in this world with you and you have the audacity to tease me about it.” He clicked his tongue in mock sadness. “What a hurtful woman you are.”

“Your one true love?” Alice placed her book on the ground and leaned over, her head dangling under Blood's. Batting her eyebrows as seductively as she could, she said, “I thought I was your one true love.”

Blood stared at her for a moment before wrapping his hand in her hair and jerking her head up, taking her by surprise. His lips hovered an inch above hers.

“If you insist on comparing yourself to inanimate objects, then know that you mean more to me than your body weight in tea leaves.” He grinned. “But only just.”

Bending forward, he planted a small kiss on the tip of her nose. Then he let go of her.

Alice pulled herself up again, deliberating whether to go on teasing him but ultimately deciding against it. They sat against a tree in a secluded corner of Blood's rose garden. Evening sunlight shone down on them, casting long shadows across the lawn. Apart from the sound of birds tweeting to one another and ruffling their feathers as they prepared to roost, the world was silent around them.

Blood hardly ever invited her to join him in this garden. Ever since she'd accidentally stumbled upon it, she must have been here only three or four times. It was the one place Blood kept almost entirely to himself, which had made it all the more surprising when he'd invited her here today.

Alice leaned back against the tree. Smirking but making sure to avoid Blood's eyes, she raised her book and started to read again.

The sound of the tea tray rattling a few minutes later made her look up. With a soft grunt, Blood shifted and lay his head back against Alice's legs.

“What are you doing?”

Blood adjusted his body until he found a position he was satisfied with, the back of his head resting on her thighs. “It's more comfortable like this.”

Alice scoffed. “Fine.”

She returned to her reading, determined to ignore him, but found her fingers playing with the tips of his hair anyway. If Blood noticed, he didn't say anything as he focused on the book in his own hands.

Alice wasn't sure how much time had passed when her eyelids began to droop. She shook her head, the sudden movement causing Blood to look up at her.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Fine.”

Yet no sooner had Alice raised her book again did her mind start to feel hazy again. She tried to concentrate on the words in front of her, but it was useless. Her head slumped forward on her chest.

Instinctively, she jerked her head upright again, making her whole body jump. She looked down to apologise to Blood, but what she saw made her scream.

Taking the Hatter's place on her legs was another man altoghether. He smiled up at her from beneath his black jester's hat.

Alice wasted no time in pushing him off and leaping to her feet. She stumbled back, wanting to put as much space between herself and this mystery man as possible.

“Who are you?” she shouted, raising the hardback in her hands in case she needed to use it as a weapon.

The man let out a giggle as he sat up. “I'm surprised you don't recognise me, Alice. We've met before, after all.”

“I've never met—” Alice stopped herself halfway through the sentence as the image of a man with red hair and an eyepatch staring at her from beneath the water's surface came into her head. “It's you. The man I saw at the lake.”

“Or Joker, as most people call me.” Now on his feet, the man placed a hand on his hip and brushed a few stray blades of grass from the side of his leg. He looked to be as tall as Blood, with a dark grey jacket and red and black chequered trousers, an outfit which reminded Alice vaguely of the circus.

He walked over to one of the nearby rose bushes and bent to inspect one of the flowers. Alice followed him with her eyes, her head spinning. “What have you done with Blood?”

“I haven't done anything. Look.”

Joker gestured to the tree the pair had been sitting at. Turning her head, Alice almost cried out in shock again. Resting at the base of the tree were two figures. Her own head hung on her shoulders as she slept, while Blood continued to read his book in her lap.

Overcome with a mixture of curiosity and horror, Alice walked over to them. Blood didn't respond to her presence, even when she said his name. It was as if she weren't there.

As she stretched out her hand to grab Blood's wrist, Joker said calmly, “I wouldn't do that.”

She turned to see him standing a few paces away. “Why not?”

“Strange things happen when you mix dreams and reality.”

 _So, this is a dream,_ Alice thought. She glanced back over her shoulder. Dream or not, there was something deeply unsettling about watching yourself from someone else's point of view.

“You carry a lot of guilt, Alice. I can tell.”

Joker's voice brought her attention back to him. She narrowed her eyes. “We've never even spoken. How can you tell how I feel?”

The smile that seemed to be a permanent fixture on Joker's face widened. “There's someone from your past you've left behind. Someone you want to see again.”

Alice's heart clenched. While there were several people who fit that profile, one rose above the rest. “Ace.”

“Exactly.” Bowing his head slightly so that the arms of his hat bobbed, Joker asked, “Would you like to see him again?”

“Can you do that?”

In place of an answer, Joker walked towards her and slipped behind. Alice tried not to flinch as he placed his hands over her eyes.

“Count to three,” he whispered in her ear.

Alice did as she was told, counting down in her head. Once she reached zero, the hands left her face and she opened her eyes.

The environment had completely changed around her. Instead of standing in the rose garden, Alice now found herself in the middle of a long, wide corridor. The walls were lined with jail cells, each separated by a stone pillar, and wooden beams criss-crossed the ceiling.

Joker stood in the middle of the corridor ahead of Alice. Somehow, he'd managed to switch from behind her to where he was now in the blink of an eye, though that was far from the strangest thing about the situation. His clothes had changed, too: he now donned a black flat cap and uniform, though his eyepatch remained.

“This way,” he snapped, immediately turning and marching off down the corridor. His voice was a little harsher, too, Alice noticed.

She took a step forward, only to feel something brush her foot. She looked down. She hadn't noticed it before, but the floor was littered with dolls, each of them crudely sewn together. A shiver trickled down her spine.

“Come on,” Joker barked, his voice echoing off the stone walls. Careful to avoid tripping on any of the toys, Alice ran after him.

Joker stopped a few cells from the end and gestured into the closest one. “There.”

Alice's pulse was pounding as she closed the last few steps. A part of her didn't want to peek into the cell, but she knew she had to. If what Joker had promised was true, then it would be her only chance to speak to Ace, even within in the realms of a dream.

She approached the cell slowly, bent her head and peered inside. She wasn't quite sure what she'd been expecting, but the sight that greeted her made her cover her mouth with her hand.

_Ace._


	25. Clouds

Alice still remembered the moment she'd found Blood in the Heart Castle dungeon with Peter. He'd been sitting with his back to her, a little bruised but ultimately unharmed after his short stay. The sight had stayed with her until long after she'd freed him.

Looking at Ace now, she realised just how much worse things could get.

He sat against the right wall, one knee bent, head resting against his chest. Though he didn't seem to be physically harmed, the slump of his shoulders was that of a man who'd reached his limits of exhaustion.

“Ace.” Alice placed a hand on one of the bars, surprised at how icy the metal felt beneath her fingers.

He lifted his head slowly and turned it just enough to look at her. Deep bags dragged his eyes down, making his usually radiant face look almost skeletal in comparison.

“Nice try, Joker,” he muttered and returned to staring at the ground.

 _He thinks I'm an illusion,_ Alice realised.

Kneeling down so that she could get closer, she said, “It's me, Ace. I'm real.”

He looked at her again, and this time, a little energy returned to his face. His eyes flicked between her and Joker, then back again. Slowly, Alice stretched a hand into his cell. He took it into his own, gloved fingers intertwining with hers.

A weak smile pulled at his lips. “Well, you certainly _feel_ more real than any of the others.” His face quickly fell again. “What are you doing here? It's dangerous.”

“I came to see you. Nobody would tell me where you were.”

“There's a reason for that.” Ace let go of her hand so that he could crawl closer and kneel on the other side of the bars. “Can't you feel it? The oppressiveness of this place. You need to leave.”

The seriousness of his voice was almost enough to convince Alice to do what he said, but she shook her head. “I'm not leaving yet. I had to see you.” She felt like a timer had started ticking away. Whether this was a dream or real life, her time here was limited.

“Do you blame yourself?” Ace mumbled.

Alice froze. “For what?”

“I can see it written all over your face. Joker wouldn't have brought you here if you weren't feeling some kind of guilt.” Ace leaned forward a little, his eyes latching onto hers with an intensity that Alice couldn't look away from. Then he looked away sharply. “If you blame yourself for sending me here, then don't. I deserve it. What I did was unforgivable.”

 _Am I that easy to read?_ Alice wondered. Or was it just luck that Ace had managed to so precisely sum up her worries over the past few weeks? Looking at him trapped inside the cell, she felt the familiar wave of guilt settle at the pit of her stomach. It may be stupid to take the blame for something Ace had brought upon himself, but that didn't make it any easier to stop.

“How long until you're let out?” she asked.

Ace shrugged. “Not sure. I don't decide.”

Before he could stop her, Alice turned to Joker, who was standing in the middle of corridor, examining his fingernails. “How long does Ace have to stay in here for?”

Joker didn't bother looking up as he said coolly, “Until he's ready to come out.”

Alice was about to ask what he meant, when she felt something brush her hand. She turned back to see Ace curling his fingers around hers on the bars. The last time those hands had touched her, they'd been at her throat, shoving her back as they duelled in the shadow of Heart Castle.

“Alice,” he said softly, “I'm so sorry for what I did to you. Blood, as well. I let my jealousy take me over. I was such an idiot, and I hurt everyone for it.”

“I forgive you,” she said, and meant it. “Blood and I are fine now. Julius is safe, too.”

“He is?” Ace looked up and sighed. “I'm glad to hear it. I should have known better, especially with my responsibilities.”

“You mean as Executioner.”

For a moment, Ace's eyes widened. Then he laughed softly. “You know about that. In which case, you understand why Joker is going extra hard on me.”

“Because you broke the rules,” said Alice.

“Rules which I was supposed to enforce. It's my job to put down those who don't follow the rules, the ones who break clocks or keep them to themselves. That's what being the Executioner means.” Lowering his voice slightly, Ace said, “I'm assuming you didn't come here just to catch up. Joker mentioned the problems the faceless have been causing. Sometimes I think he talks about it just to rub it in my face.” A flicker of anger crossed his eyes.

“I didn't even suspect the faceless until they burned down the Clock Tower,” said Alice.

“They did _what_?” Ace's fingers tightened around hers. “Is Julius—”

“He's safe. He got out in time.”

“Good.” He gritted his teeth and muttered, “Bastards.”

The tone of his voice suggested he knew more about the subject than he was letting on. Alice's heart leapt. This could be it, her chance to finally fill in the missing pieces of this situation and find the ones who'd been behind all these attacks.

“Someone told me that there's a group of faceless who might be trying to get revenge on the role-holders. Have you ever heard anything like that?”

“No,” said Ace after a pause.

“What about faceless controlling afterimages?”

He frowned. “Never.”

Alice felt like her final hope had been snuffed, though she tried not to let her disappointment seep onto her face. “That's fine. Thank you, anyway.”

From behind her came the sound of something clicking against stone. She glanced over her shoulder to see Joker bringing the heel of his boot down on the ground again. “Time's up,” he barked.

“Alice.” Ace's hand left the bar to grab her by the wrist, demanding her attention. “You've heard about the spider in an ant nest analogy, haven't you?”

She shook her head, though she had her ideas.

“Picture the size difference between a large spider and an ant. Up against one ant, the spider will always win. Even with ten, fifty, a hundred ants, it'll still be able to fight it way out. But the moment that spider steps into an ant nest, it'll be overpowered. When they band together, ants can take out huge enemies by the sheer power of numbers.” Ace squeezed her wrist. “We role-holders are strong, but _never_ underestimate the power of numbers. If what you're saying is true and they're banding together for revenge...” His words faded, as if he couldn't think of an ending for that sentence.

Something shuffled behind Alice. The next thing she knew, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and wrenched her back.

“Wait,” she shouted, struggling against Joker's grip. A few more moments with Ace was all she needed. Who knew how long it would be until she saw him again?

“I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help,” he said. “But you're strong.. You'll work something out.”

Her hand slipped from him as Joker pulled her back. His forearm covered her eyes, but she pushed it away, wanting just one more look at her friend before she left.

“I'll get you out of here, Ace. I promise I'll find a way.”

If he said anything back, Alice didn't hear it, as at that moment Joker clamped his arm down over her eyes again. The world seemed to fall away around her, the air rushing past as if she were falling down the rabbit hole again. Then something brushed her cheek.

She opened her eyes to see a white object passing back and forth in front of her face. It took her a moment to realise it was a hand.

“Wake up, Alice.” Blood's deep voice gradually brought her back to reality. She looked up. He crouched in front of her, concern on his face.

“Blood?”

He sighed softly and took his hand away. “You wouldn't wake up for a few minutes. Are you all right?”

“I'm fine.” Slowly, Alice raised her hands to her eyes and rubbed them. “Just a weird dream, is all.”

When her vision refocused, she glanced up at Blood again, but it was the sky behind him that caught her attention. For a moment, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

“Hey, Blood,” she said, pointing upwards. “Is that normal?”

The sky above the mansion was coloured grey with storm clouds. In all her time here, Alice had never known the weather to be anything but clear skies. The clouds seemed to be moving as she watched, like billowing black smoke creeping towards them.

Blood didn't answer her question. He simply took her by the hand, pulled her upright and motioned towards the mansion. Somehow, that made Alice feel more uneasy than anything he could have said.

It didn't escape her notice that Blood kept on looking up at the clouds as they walked through the gardens, as if he, too, could sense that something awful waited for them just around the corner.


	26. Key

Out of all the things Alice expected to find in the village near the Amusement Park, Julius walking down the street clutching a paper bag was one of the last.

He turned his head as she called out his name, slowing his pace enough for her to catch up with him. “What are you doing here?”

“Shopping,” he mumbled.

“Really?”

He shot a glance at Alice. “You seem surprised.”

“No, it's just... unusual to see you outside of your own volition.”

Clicking his tongue, Julius said, “There was barely any food left in the house and Gowland's been out for several time periods.” He paused. “What are _you_ doing here?”

“You didn't know? This is the village where I live. Well, used to live, anyway.” Alice removed a key on a string from her pocket and held it up in front of her. “I'm going to return my apartment key. Want to come with me?”

She pointed to an alley on the right up ahead and veered towards it. Julius followed her wordlessly.

Despite its inconspicuous location, the bakery where her landlord worked was busy as always. The smell of freshly-baked bread and sugar drifted through the open door. Alice was about to step inside when she noticed Julius holding back, an anxious expression on his face.

“I'll wait here,” he said.

“All right,” she replied with a smile. “I'll only be a minute.”

It took Alice a moment once she was inside to locate her landlord among the bustling faceless. She spotted him next to a shelf, talking a customer through the different types of cupcakes on sale. She waved at him as he looked up.

Pardoning himself from his conversation, the faceless grinned widely and walked over to her. He was a short, portly man with thinning grey hair and a white apron, comically reminiscent of the bakers drawn in the picture books Alice had read as a child.

“So, you're all packed?” He held out his hand for the key, which Alice gave to him.

“I cleared out the room a few time periods ago. Thank you so much for letting me stay.”

“Nonsense. Any friend of Gowland's a friend of mine.” The faceless gave her a friendly tap on the shoulder. “You give him my regards, okay? I haven't seen him in so long. Things have been hectic here for a while, as you can see.” He motioned proudly to the shop around him.

After thanking him one final time, Alice made her way back to the door. She was about to leave when the sound of a woman's voice caught her ear.

She paused before the door and looked over her shoulder. A pair of faceless around her age stood at the side of the room, giggling and pointing at something through the window.

“He's so creepy,” one of them whispered.

“What's he doing just standing there like that?” the other muttered.

Alice followed their gazes to Julius, who was still waiting outside, leaning against the alley wall. A spike of anger stabbed her. She knew Julius's role meant he wasn't exactly popular among the residents of this world, but she'd never heard anyone talk about him like that in person. Suspecting that she'd end up confronting the faceless if she stayed in the shop any longer, she marched outside.

“All done?” Julius asked.

“Yeah.” Alice paused in the middle of the alley. The faceless' words still rang around her head.

“Alice.”

She jumped and looked up into Julius's concerned eyes.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

With a firm nod, she said, “I'm fine. Give me a moment.”

Before Julius could ask what she was doing, she'd turned back to the bakery. Once inside, she easily picked out the two faceless women. Their smiles fell a little as she approached.

“Why did you say that?” she snapped.

The faceless looked at one another in confusion. “Say what?” the first asked.

“All that stuff about Julius. Laughing at him. Calling him creepy.” Alice had to fight to keep her voice level. She could already sense the shop falling quiet around her as people stopped to watch the confrontation.

“It's not like you'd understand, being an Outsider and all,” said the second woman, putting her hands on her hips.

“Outsider or not, he's still my friend.”

“So?” the woman scoffed. “To you, he's a 'friend'. You don't have a clock heart. You'll never have him tinker with you or bring you back as someone else.”

Her words caught Alice off guard. After all the time Julius spent fixing clocks, the hours he poured into his work while locked away in his tower, it saddened her that the faceless didn't even care.

“Surely you should be grateful you get to come back,” she said.

The woman's mouth twisted into a sneer. “As long as you're an Outsider, you don't get to have an opinion. It'll never happen to you while you still have your beating heart, so why worry about what we think?”

Alice opened her mouth to argue, but realised she had nothing to say. The woman had a point. She may have been in this world for a while now, but she'd never experience what it would be like to have a clock heart, knowing that one day, it would be all that was left behind. Still, she couldn't just stand here and allow people to bully Julius because of the nature of his role.

Sensing the weight of the gazes on her back, Alice sighed. She'd said what she'd come to say. There was nothing else she could do now that wouldn't lead to another argument. Shooting one final venomous look at the pair of women, she stormed out of the shop and joined Julius on the street.

“What happened in there?” he asked. “Some kind of argument?”

“I'm sorry. I need a moment to calm down.” Alice marched straight past him, faced the wall and closed her eyes. Her face was still burning. Once a few minutes had passed and her breathing had returned to normal, she turned to Julius and apoligised again.

“Don't worry about it,” he muttered.

Alice studied his face. Luckily, it didn't seem he'd heard what had happened in the shop.

“Come on.” Alice looped her arm through his elbow and led him out of the alley. If the sudden contact shocked him, he didn't say anything. “Let's get out of here.”

*

When she arrived back at the Hatter Mansion, Alice was greeted with a grim sight.

The storm clouds that had materialised earlier still hung over the building, so oppressive they seemed ready to fall to the world at any moment. That wasn't what alarmed her, though. The entrance doors had been thrown wide open and faceless servants ran in and out, shouting at one another. Several held guns. For a horrifying moment, Alice assumed the worst – that they were there to storm the mansion. Then she spotted a familiar face among them.

With his black suit and long hair slicked back into a ponytail, Dum looked the picture of a mafioso. Alice had only seen him and his brother in their adult forms a handful of times. The double-bladed axe he rested against his shoulders looked more suited to his size, but no less terrifying.

He turned as Alice called out to him, a rare look of disquiet on his face.

“Is everyone okay? Where's Blood?” she asked.

“He's inside. Elliot, too. We're all safe now. Don't worry.”

 _Now?_ Alice thought, frowning. “Was there an attack?”

“I guess you could call it that,” said Dum. “We don't know how it happened, but someone broke into the dungeons. They tried to kill the prisoner.”


	27. Handkerchief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm establishing somewhat of a regular posting schedule again. Yay. Also, thank you for 200 views so far!

Alice sprinted through the mansion hallways, not stopping until she reached the reached the entrance to the basement. Ignoring the pair of faceless standing guard, she swung onto the stairwell, leapt down two steps at a time and burst through the door at the bottom.

The space seemed far too small to contain the bodies gathered there. On one side stood a pair of men with guns, presumably there to act as a second layer of protection, while Elliot and an adult Dee crouched on the other side. A body slumped on the floor between them. From the trail of blood leading from the centre of the room to his legs, it was safe to assume he'd been shot and subsequently dragged there.

“Where's Blood?” she panted, her lungs aching from the run.

Elliot nodded wordlessly to the cell on the right.

When she peered inside, Alice saw Blood kneeling on the ground beside the faceless maid. Dum had told her he was safe, but seeing him with her own eyes filled her with relief. The maid was another matter. Her neck and left shoulder were dyed red with blood, and her breathing sounded shallow and laboured.

Alice didn't have to ask who'd done this. The answer lay on the floor behind her.

The thought that had been niggling at the back of Alice's mind since her arrival at the mansion suddenly hit her with full force. Raphael had said he was going to speak to the woman who'd attacked her, whether Blood would allow it or not. From the looks of things, he'd sent in one of his men to break her out from the cell, a plan that clearly hadn't worked out in his favour.

So, why were there two dying faceless here instead of one? The man had been shot for sneaking in – that much was obvious. Who had attacked the maid?

 _Unless..._ Alice remembered the hint of a smile on Raphael's face when she'd told him he wouldn't be able to break the woman out. Perhaps he'd never intended to do so in the first place.

Blood looked up at her as she knelt on the other side of the maid. The grim look on his face didn't waver.

“Was it the faceless?” she asked.

“Yes,” he mumbled. “He stabbed her.”

Between his bloodsoaked fingers, the Hatter held a handkerchief. He folded it in half and pressed it against the maid's neck, eliciting a gasp from her lips.

“Elliot managed to shoot him in the leg moments after he'd pulled the knife out,” said Blood. “We were going to question him, but he took some kind of poison. There's nothing we can do for him now.”

Alice glanced over her shoulder at the faceless slumped in the main part of the room. “And the maid?”

Blood's grimace confirmed her fears.

She reached out and placed her fingers over the handkerchief, allowing him to taking over the job of holding it against the woman's neck. The smell of blood made her stomach turn.

“Just relax,” she whispered as the woman winced again. She may have tried to kill her, but the least Alice could do was try and make her final moments comfortable.

It felt strange knowing that perhaps the only link she had to the group of faceless that was trying to tear Wonderland apart currently sat dying before her. After her last attempt to talk to her and Blood's failed interrogation, Alice had ruled out the possibility of the woman giving up any information. And yet she still couldn't help the words that left her mouth: “I spoke to Raphael.”

The woman froze. It was just a momentary gesture, one Alice would surely have missed had she not been sitting so close, but it made her heart jump with hope. Blood, too, seemed to have noticed, judging by the way he raised his eyebrow.

Moving around so that she was closer to the woman's eyeline, Alice said, “Raphael told me about the group you belong to, that you want to destroy the role-holders. Tell me how I can find them. I just want to talk.”

The woman didn't respond. Something touched Alice's wrist, and she looked down to see Blood's fingertips brushing against her skin. She pulled away sharply as her desperation grew.

“I know you probably hate me. This world has treated you and the rest of the faceless like dirt. But killing people won't make things better.” Alice leaned forward. “I don't want to lose any of the people I love.”

At last, the woman raised her head. Despite her empty eye sockets, Alice could sense she was staring straight at her. She placed her hand on her knee and said, “Please let the last thing you do in this world be to help someone.”

With what seemed like all her effort, the woman opened her mouth and rasped, “If you think Raphael is telling the truth... you're an idiot.” Her voice sounded like nails against sandpaper.

Alice's breath hitched in her throat. “What?”

“He sent someone... to kill me. That bastard can burn for all I care.” A sudden strangled noise rose from her throat. Then she launched into a coughing fit that shook her whole body. “You have no idea what he's planning. I... pity you...”

Her words faded into a sigh, her head slumping forward on her chest. Alice placed a hand on her shoulder and shook gently, but it was no use. She was gone.

Alice looked up at Blood. A cold sweat had begun to break out on her forehead as panic gripped her. “Blood. What did she mean by that?”

A rare flash of terror passed through the Hatter's eyes. It seemed that for once in his life, he was speechless.

The sound of Elliot clearing his throat made both of them turn their heads. He stood in the cell doorway and motioned at the woman's body. “Let me take her out before she turns into an afterimage.”

Blood nodded. “Take the assassin, too.”

With a signal to Dee, Elliot rushed forward and hauled the woman's body up. She fell over his shoulder, as limply as a knitted doll. He left quickly, leaving Blood and Alice kneeling on the floor, staring at one another with wide eyes.

She should have known it would turn out like this. What did she know about Raphael apart from what he'd told her, after all? But still, a part of her felt betrayed. Cheated. And deathly afraid.

 _You have no idea what he's planning._ Despite those words, Alice had an inkling, and from the look on his face, Blood did, too.

She needed to talk to Raphael straight away.


	28. Hammer

The mouth of the cave stared at Alice. With a deep breath to steady her nerves, she walked towards it.

“Whoa, there.”

The sudden voice startled her. Turning, she saw a faceless guard emerge from the darkness, a handgun trained on her.

“My name is Alice. I'm here to see Raphael,” she said in as firm a voice she could manage.

The guard paused a moment, as if staring her down. Then he nodded. “Very well. Go through.”

Alice's heart was beating hard as she stepped into the cave. The tunnel that stretched before her was just a little wider than her shoulders and unlit. After a few steps inside, the moonlight no longer reached her, and she was plunged into total darkness.

Eventually, her outstretched hands met something flat and wooden. She'd reached the door. Her fingers found the handle, and she opened it into a small chamber, though this one was lit, at least. A pair of faceless sat on chairs either side of the chamber. They looked up at Alice entered.

“Oh. It's you,” said the one on the right. With a grunt, he set down the book he'd been reading, stood up and produced a key, which he used to unlock the door on the other side.

At first glance, it wasn't the tightest security system in the world, but Alice remembered what she'd told Boris: the very layout of the cave was its greatest defence. The passage she'd just come down only let in one person at a time, making any hopes of storming the cave impossible. A couple of people with guns standing here, picking off attackers one-by-one, would be enough to bring down an army.

On the other side of the door, Alice was greeted by the light and noise of the main cavern. It seemed larger than she'd remembered, the hectic wooden framework that covered the walls looking even more impressive that it had in her memory. Like before, faceless populated the large space. A few of them peered over at Alice from across the room, but she ignored them. There was only one person she was interested in seeing now.

“Are you okay, Miss Outsider?” asked an older woman, approaching her.

“I'm looking for Raphael. Is he here?” Despite scouring the room, Alice couldn't pick him out.

Tapping a finger against her chin, the woman said, “I haven't seen him for a while now. Sorry, dear.”

As if by some remote cue, a familiar voice suddenly called out Alice's name. She turned to see Raphael leaning over the wooden balcony that ran along the back wall, the only place she'd forgotten to look.

Her heart jumped. He immediately seemed more energetic than last time and pleased to see her. But she couldn't let her guard down. Thanking the woman for her help, she walked up to the platform and called up. “Rafael, we need to talk.”

“Of course. Come up here,” he shouted back, gesturing with his arm.

Alice found the stairs leading to the balcony and looked up. The whole structure seemed a little rickety, as if it might topple at any moment, though the handful of faceless moving around it reassured her that one more body wasn't going to tip it over the edge. Gripping the rail in her hand, she began to climb.

The platform at the top stretched back further than she'd expected, the wooden floorboards reaching back into a long alcove that stretched the length of the structure. Raphael knelt on the stone, hammering a nail into the edge of the floorboards. His wavy brown hair hung over his face as he worked.

“I wasn't expecting to see you again so quickly,” he said. “The door guards didn't give you any trouble, did they?”

“No, they were fine,” said Alice. She hovered over him, unsure of whether to let him finish whatever he was doing before talking.

Luckily, her problem was solved for her, as at that moment Raphael leaned back on his haunches and looked up at her. “What can I help you with?”

 _There's no point in dancing around the topic,_ she told herself, though she still hesitated before his empty gaze. After a few seconds, she sighed and said, “I know you sent someone to the Hatter Mansion.”

Raphael's mouth fell a little, as if he'd been expecting her to say something else. He turned back to the floorboard and positioned a nail against the wood. “I told you as much last time you were here. What of it?”

“Your man ended up killing the maid and himself. I thought you said you wanted to speak to her to ask her about the other group.”

“Correct. Yet it seems that taking her out wasn't possible, so he did the next best thing.” Raphael didn't seem in the least bit upset that his man was dead. He raised his hammer and brought it down onto the head of the nail, the sharp noise echoing around the cave and making Alice jump.

“But why?” asked Alice. “She's useless dead.”

“Not entirely. Her death sends a message to the other group. Perhaps it'll scare them into quieting their activities for a while.”

Alice paused, feeling once again that twisting feeling in her stomach she'd had when sat over the woman. “There's another thing. Before she died, the woman told me something.”

“Oh? And what might that be?”

Avoiding his eyes, Alice said, “That you're a liar.”

Rafael didn't even hesitate at the accusation, though Alice noticed that the force with which he smacked the nail into the board increased a little. “Did you believe her?”

“I'm not sure.”

The faceless stayed quiet as he finished his work. Once he was done, he stood up and pushed down on the board with his foot, nodding to himself when it supported his weight. “What would you do if you found I'd been lying to you?”

“I'm not sure,” said Alice, a little bewildered. She'd been expecting him to deny it straight away. “I just want to know the truth.”

“And I've told you the truth.”

He turned to Alice suddenly, making her take a step back. She looked him straight in the face and asked, “Why did you kill the maid?”

A short sigh escaped Raphael's lips. He looked down at the hammer in his hand. Then he raised it and swung it in an arc towards the side of her head. Alice jumped. She ducked, left hand flying up to intercept the weapon before it hit her.

But the blow never came. With wide eyes, Alice looked around to see the head of the hammer hovering just a breadth from her hand. Raphael had stopped it in midair. His eyes dropped to her right hand, which had been reaching for her pocket, and a self-satisfied smirk lit up his face.

Alice's heart thrummed in her throat. It had all been over in less than a second, and she'd given herself away.

“So, I see you brought your own gun this time,” Raphael muttered, lowering his hammer but not dropping it.

Seeing how there was no point in hiding it now, Alice took the weapon out of her pocket and held it in her hand. The pistol Blood had given her was a little smaller than Boris's, but was just as easy for her to work by now.

Raphael extended his hand, indicating for her to hand it over. She shook her head, at which he scoffed. “Come on, Alice. Don't play games.”

He pushed his hand closer to her, but Alice stepped back, gripping the gun between her fingers. “There is no other group, is there?” She sensed a sudden presence behind her, and someone cleared their throat. She didn't have to look over her shoulder to realise that a small group of faceless had gathered, no doubt to back up their leader and intimidate her. She clenched her jaw in anger and threw the gun at Raphael's feet.

“All along, it was you.” Alice's head spun with the realisation that the woman had been correct. She'd been lied to. The source of their problems had been lying right here under her nose. “What about the stolen clocks, the afterimages attacking people, burning the Clock Tower? Were those you, too?”

“I'd been hoping it'd be a while more before you put the pieces together.” Raphael held her gun up before his face before pocketing it.

“Why?” she mumbled.

“I already told you, didn't I?” Danger lurked beneath the man's cool tone. “I want to protect our community. And I _hate_ the role-holders.”

Alice thought of the way Gowland spoke fondly of the workers at his Amusement Park, the gentle respect Julius gave each of the faceless who turned up at the Tower to deliver clocks.

“Not all role-holders treat the faceless badly,” she said.

“No?” Raphael swept forward and placed his free hand on Alice's waist. She was about to pull away when she felt the head of the hammer brush against her arm. It wasn't a threat, but rather a reminder that he could hurt her if he wanted to, and Alice had no doubt that he would do so if circumstances called for it.

“We're going to go for a little walk, you and I,” he said, guiding her to the stairway at the end of the platform. “Let me tell you a story.”


End file.
